Secrets that made Ma Thiri's speech so so AWESOME!

I have watched, coached and judged countless number of scripts, speeches and speakers. Only a handful of speakers and scripts got me really excited and blew me away.

Ma Thiri Thant Mon's speech at TEDxYangon 2020 is one of the best I have ever seen, watched or heard. Because it is so so good and we can learn from it so much, I have gone through the troubles to get the video for you to watch.

The title of her speech was...

The 'Us' in 'Them' - How Each of Us Can Impact Our World

Here are what I LOVE about her speech

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1?? Winston Churchill said that a good speech should be like a woman's skirt. Long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest. In this context, this speech was a mini-skirt. Short, Sexy and Did the job. 11 minutes of pure masterclass. I love the fact that it wasn't a long speech and yet, it was a powerful one. This is extremely difficult to achieve. Tip No.1, keep your speech short but effective.

2?? Ma Thiri must have put in a lot of work into this script. I have never seen or heard a script this good without endless revisions and re-writes. No one can get to this point with a first draft. Tip No.2, re-write your script again and again. Don't settle at your first draft. You may think no one knows but to the people who really understand this art of communication, the difference is like a crow and swan.

3?? Most people can feel the difference with their hearts a great speech from an ordinary one. But I am here to let you understand what tools, techniques and skills she used to cast the spell on us.

Before I tell you about the secret sauce that made her speech world class, let me tell you that Ma Thiri is a wizard with words. The script writer is a genius. Here are the beautiful usage of the language.

? She used many contrasts in her speech, either in the same sentences or in the sentences one after another. Contrasts make our message clear, powerful and beautiful. Here are my top picks.

?? In the title: THEM ?? US (a contrast)

?? Oppressed Country ?? Joyous Free World

?? Felt lucky to be a banker at first ?? No longer proud to say that she was one.

?? Incredibly Scary ?? Oddly Reassuring

?? How Good They Are ?? How Good We Are

This is not a coincidence that she has that many contrasts. This is a work of a master who knows what she was doing. So, start using contrasts in your speeches to make them more powerful.

? Another powerful Rhetorical device she used was power of threes. It means when she described something important, she used 3 things. Below are examples.

?? New Businesses, New Restaurants and New Buildings

?? In 2016 - Depressed, Lost and Out of Answers.

?? Scientists, Leaders and Problem Solvers.

?? Isolated for Decades, Brain-Washed by Propaganda and with scary & sad statistics (a Powerful 3 S combo here)

?? Family, Profession & Country

Power of 3s is extremely persuasive for the listeners. So, next time in your speeches, have them, use them and apply them. (I just used a power of 3s here in the last sentence)

4?? The most important thing I wanted to point out was the structure of her script. I bet that Ma Thiri is a fan of Nancy Durte because she used Durte's structure.

Durte explained that powerful speeches have a common structure. The structure brings the audience on a journey. It is almost like a rollercoaster ride. Here is how the structure works.

What is ?? What could be ?? What is ?? What could be

The structure brings the audience Up and then pulls them back down. Let's see how Ma Thiri used the structure to play with our feelings and make us hang on to every word she spoke.

?? (Started with Bad emotion)

When she was little, there were all those bad things.

?? (Turning Point 1) (Things got better)

In her late teens, she moved overseas and all those opportunities opened up for her. She became a banker or in her words, the master of the universe.

?? (Turning Point 2) (Low Emotion)

Financial Crisis. She no longer felt proud of herself.

?? (Turning Point 3) (Things got better)

Myanmar became democratic and people believed good things would happen.

?? (Turning Point 4) (Low Emotion)

2016 was a bad bad year. Everything started to fall.

?? (Turning Point 5) (There is hope)

There is no THEM. There is only US. We need to find the answer.

Do you see now how she scripted her speech? She literally took us on an exciting emotional ride of highs and lows. Even though you didn't know this was happening, the effect of it is for all to see. An incredible speech. This doesn't happen by chance. This is the work of a master. Even though, this looks easy, it is extremely difficult to write a script like this. Try it next time and I promise you that you will blow others away.

5?? Another amazing thing about the speech is that there was a clear call for action and it didn't sound like a cliché. Her message to us was

"STEP UP. Do something. Start positive ripples."

"Do More. Do Better. Be Better."

"Along the way, find fellow doers."

Lastly, she closed it with

"There is no THEM. There is only US."

With that, she closed the loop she opened in her introduction.

This speech was perfect because she paid careful attention to all the details. There was a perfect match between the title, the story and the message. She made sure the distinction between THEY and US was clear.

1st THEY - The dictators or military government

2nd THEY - The greedy bankers & Regulators

3rd THEY - The newly elected government

4th THEY - All others

US - We are one of THEM

The message was timely, relevant and universal. She deserves a standing ovation...

This is definitely an Idea Worth Sharing.

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Thank you so much Ma Thiri Thant Mon. I do not know her but if you do, please send my highest regards to her. Also, please thank her for brining TEDx to Myanmar too.

She has inspired me with her words. I will do more, do better and be better.

I learnt so much from her and I hope you do too. I have a few tiny suggestions but I will keep them for now because this is too perfect...

Thanks and see you at the next speech!

#TheBest #NotThemOnlyUs #apt