Is it hard to get face time with the speaker you support? If so, don't give up.
14/05/13 15:51 Filed in: Speeches Presentations
If you write speeches for a senior executive, you probably know what a challenge it can be to grab even a few minutes of his or her time to discuss upcoming assignments. The single biggest frustration voiced during my speechwriting workshops is: "I can never get enough time with the speaker to find out what he/she wants to say." Sadly, scribes often find themselves subject to a harsh truth. Many speakers simply don't view speech meetings as a high value use of their time.
So, what's the answer? Give up and accept the status quo? Or, work at changing the speaker's perceptions? If you choose the second option, here are three steps you can take to show that speech meetings are worthwhile.
1. Arrive up to speed. Don't come expecting the speaker to brief you. Conduct research and speak to subject matter experts and others in the know and bring informed ideas to the speaker for validation.
2. Even better, arrive with an outline for discussion. Rather than a linear outline, create an idea map or even an infographic to make it easy for the speaker to visualize and absorb the organization and content at a glance.
3. Listen carefully to what is said and inferred. Be sure to reflect the speaker's direction and more subtle requests in your drafts. You can still exercise creativity, but your first priority should be to satisfy your client's wishes.
The more you do to demonstrate to the speaker that a meeting with you is time well spent, the more likely you'll be invited back -- and maybe for more than a fleeting few minutes. Dream big.
Join me for Write Out Loud: Practical Speechwriting Skills May 30, 2013 and spend an activity-packed day learning the nuts and bolts of putting together great speeches. Plus, you'll take away a manual that contains lots of valuable checklists, templates, articles and resources.
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Thank you for arguing: your audience will love it
19/04/13 14:34 Filed in: Speeches Presentations
Speech and presentation writers who want to persuade often turn to stories, quotes, analogies, cleverly worded key messages and other devices. With so much choice it can be easy to overlook the value of the most basic persuasive tactic: constructing solid arguments.
Argument is the language of logic. (When people argue in this sense, they are not quarreling. Rather, they are stating reasons and conclusions that support their point of view.) Educated audiences are good at analyzing arguments and identifying their strengths and weaknesses. It follows then that well-stated arguments can add to a speaker's credibility and persuasiveness, while poorly constructed arguments can detract. Here are three tips for building arguments that will stand up to scrutiny.
• Define your terms - Are you in favour of justice, peace and equality? Such terms are "hooray words" says philosopher Jamie Whyte. (In contrast he calls words like murder and cruelty "boo words".) Clarify what you mean when you use concepts with overly broad definitions.
• Don't stop short at analysis - To provide insight you need to match analysis with synthesis. In other words, you need to tell your audience what you found and what it means.
• Cite experts with care - It's not enough to tell people that experts are in favour of (or against) a product, idea or course of action. You have an obligation to answer the question why? by describing the expert evidence.
Join me for Write Out Loud: Practical Speechwriting Skills on May 30, 2013 to learn even more tactics for developing strong arguments. You'll leave this workshop with a manual that contains an argument checklist as well as lots of other valuable checklists, templates, articles and resources.
Argument is the language of logic. (When people argue in this sense, they are not quarreling. Rather, they are stating reasons and conclusions that support their point of view.) Educated audiences are good at analyzing arguments and identifying their strengths and weaknesses. It follows then that well-stated arguments can add to a speaker's credibility and persuasiveness, while poorly constructed arguments can detract. Here are three tips for building arguments that will stand up to scrutiny.
• Define your terms - Are you in favour of justice, peace and equality? Such terms are "hooray words" says philosopher Jamie Whyte. (In contrast he calls words like murder and cruelty "boo words".) Clarify what you mean when you use concepts with overly broad definitions.
• Don't stop short at analysis - To provide insight you need to match analysis with synthesis. In other words, you need to tell your audience what you found and what it means.
• Cite experts with care - It's not enough to tell people that experts are in favour of (or against) a product, idea or course of action. You have an obligation to answer the question why? by describing the expert evidence.
Join me for Write Out Loud: Practical Speechwriting Skills on May 30, 2013 to learn even more tactics for developing strong arguments. You'll leave this workshop with a manual that contains an argument checklist as well as lots of other valuable checklists, templates, articles and resources.
Dealing with a long laundry list of topics
21/02/13 20:53 Filed in: Speeches Presentations
Check out any book on speech and presentation writing and the advice is consistently the same: focus your talk on one strong message and back it up with three to five supporting points. But real life speeches and presentations don't always fit the classic model, and, occasionally, you may find yourself trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear long list of topics.
U.S. President Barack Obama faced that dilemma when he delivered the State of the Union Speech February 12 (2013). He spoke for roughly an hour, which is a long time considering modern-day attention spans. By my count, he covered 26 different topics ranging from debt repayment to tax reform, extreme poverty, early education, infrastructure redevelopment, gun control and the right to vote. Yet, despite all that heavy duty material, his words held my attention as he spoke them, and again later when I read the transcript.
Here are five reasons why his speech worked even though it was built around a long laundry list of items.
• President Obama didn't talk at his audience; he spoke with them. His tone and simple vocabulary were conversational.
• He drew his audience in early with a reference to "our unfinished task" and empowered them by emphasizing and re-emphasizing the role they shared in determining the success or failure of his vision.
• He used strong transitions to link topics and create a smooth speech flow. From a discussion of the deficit, he moved on to health care "...the biggest driver of our long-term debt..."
• He told stories about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events.
• He went easy on the numbers. Instead of stating sterile statistics, he gave anecdotal examples: "We have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas..."
Join me for Write Out Loud: Practical Speechwriting Skills on May 30, 2013 to learn even more ways to make your speeches stick in the minds of listeners. You'll leave this workshop with a manual that contains a wealth of checklists, templates, articles and resources.
U.S. President Barack Obama faced that dilemma when he delivered the State of the Union Speech February 12 (2013). He spoke for roughly an hour, which is a long time considering modern-day attention spans. By my count, he covered 26 different topics ranging from debt repayment to tax reform, extreme poverty, early education, infrastructure redevelopment, gun control and the right to vote. Yet, despite all that heavy duty material, his words held my attention as he spoke them, and again later when I read the transcript.
Here are five reasons why his speech worked even though it was built around a long laundry list of items.
• President Obama didn't talk at his audience; he spoke with them. His tone and simple vocabulary were conversational.
• He drew his audience in early with a reference to "our unfinished task" and empowered them by emphasizing and re-emphasizing the role they shared in determining the success or failure of his vision.
• He used strong transitions to link topics and create a smooth speech flow. From a discussion of the deficit, he moved on to health care "...the biggest driver of our long-term debt..."
• He told stories about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events.
• He went easy on the numbers. Instead of stating sterile statistics, he gave anecdotal examples: "We have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas..."
Join me for Write Out Loud: Practical Speechwriting Skills on May 30, 2013 to learn even more ways to make your speeches stick in the minds of listeners. You'll leave this workshop with a manual that contains a wealth of checklists, templates, articles and resources.
Start the new year strong
24/01/13 13:56 Filed in: Speeches Presentations
The holiday celebrations are over and the summer slowdown is a long way off. So, what better time to fine tune your approach to speeches and presentations than right now. Start 2013 strong by resolving to:
• Put real elbow grease into planning. Structure matters. Outline your ideas and test the logical flow before you start writing drafts or creating slides.
• Take advantage of the theatre of the mind. Stimulate the imagination of your listeners with concrete examples and analogies. They can't imagine abstractions.
• Write the way people talk. Language that looks great on the page may come across as stilted when spoken. Write your speeches to sound conversational.
• Expand your repertoire. Use rhetorical devices. They add variety to your writing and encourage listeners to think.
• Stop using slides as handouts. Minimize text on your slides and distribute separate summary handouts. Better yet, put your handouts online. If people value them, they'll download them. If not, you might save a tree or two.
Boost your skill at putting together persuasive presentations. Join me for Make an Impact: Five Steps to Persuasive Presentations on March 14, 2013.
Download the video tutorial Write The Way People Talk and watch it as often as you'd like - only $19.95
Context counts for a lot in communication
10/01/13 09:06 Filed in: Speeches Presentations
In Canada, we associate the Christmas season with long, cold nights and lots of snow. But if you're lucky enough to escape to warmer climes, the atmosphere can be quite different. That certainly was the case when I visited Australia late this fall. To my eyes, the Christmas decorations in stores and along city streets seemed out of context in the blaze of the summer sun.
Establishing context is also an important part of putting together a solid speech or presentation. Without a broader framework to refer to, the audience may have difficulty recognizing your key points or realizing their importance.
Here are three ways to put your message in context:
1. Answer the question why? Why is what you propose important or urgent? It can be tempting to jump right into a discussion of the issue at stake and how to address it. Explaining 'why' is a big part of setting the scene.
2. Paint the big picture rather than looking at your subject in isolation. Tell people how what you propose fits into larger programs, goals or strategic directions.
3. Relate your topic to matters that are important or familiar to the audience such as past successes or failures, shared values and your listeners' own aspirations.
• Why do so many speeches sound dull to the ear? Because they’re written to be read on the page, not spoken. I’ve created an entertaining video tutorial filled with tips and techniques you can use to write in the easy flowing conversational style that engages audiences and holds their attention. Download Write The Way People Talk for only $19.95 CAD. Go to Store on the Menu Bar above, or press here to place your order.
• Be among the first to read articles and news of interest to speech and presentation writers. Subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter Pen & Podium. See a sample issue here. If you’d like a free subscription, send a message to me at words@echeloncomm.ca
Establishing context is also an important part of putting together a solid speech or presentation. Without a broader framework to refer to, the audience may have difficulty recognizing your key points or realizing their importance.
Here are three ways to put your message in context:
1. Answer the question why? Why is what you propose important or urgent? It can be tempting to jump right into a discussion of the issue at stake and how to address it. Explaining 'why' is a big part of setting the scene.
2. Paint the big picture rather than looking at your subject in isolation. Tell people how what you propose fits into larger programs, goals or strategic directions.
3. Relate your topic to matters that are important or familiar to the audience such as past successes or failures, shared values and your listeners' own aspirations.
• Why do so many speeches sound dull to the ear? Because they’re written to be read on the page, not spoken. I’ve created an entertaining video tutorial filled with tips and techniques you can use to write in the easy flowing conversational style that engages audiences and holds their attention. Download Write The Way People Talk for only $19.95 CAD. Go to Store on the Menu Bar above, or press here to place your order.
• Be among the first to read articles and news of interest to speech and presentation writers. Subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter Pen & Podium. See a sample issue here. If you’d like a free subscription, send a message to me at words@echeloncomm.ca