21 Reminders for Speaking Brilliance

To become a top-notch speaker and keep improving, it is important to internalize valuable speaking truths. Now, these are my truths but I’ve certainly found them to work for the hundreds of speakers I have personally coached. I suggest that you tack these Reminders up in your workspace and keep them in front of you. 

If you are not familiar with some of these reminders, I have also provided the three resources you can access to grasp the reminders fully. 

7 Storytelling Reminders             

1. Tap into your audience’s world with a question before you transport them into your world with a story. 

2. Don’t give the cure before you build the conflict. 

3. Too much narration = a report. Too much dialogue = a stage play. The right mix = a very compelling story. 

4. It’s not the line, it’s the look before and after the line that tells the story 

5. If we don’t see a change in your character, then you don’t have a story. Show the change after the cure. 

6. Just give a hint to describe your scenes and characters. People buy into what they help create so if you go into too much detail, there’s nothing left for them to do. Save those details for your novel. 

7. Don’t just establish the conflict; escalate it using at least two escalation events). 

Resource: These reminders come out of my most popular best-selling course that helps you keep your audience on the edge of their seats with your stories. It’s called the Edge Of their Seats Storytelling Home-Study Course for Speakers. 

7 Keynoting Reminders

1. To be an excellent speaker you must be an excellent tease. Find ways to Transition Tease them for what’s coming next (using the Silver Spoon or Verbal Knife approach).    

2. Never end with the Q and A (Questions and Answers) session. Have one if necessary, but don’t end with it. 

3. Check the PARTS (make sure you have a Phrase, Anchor, Reflection, Technique, and Sale) for every point you make so that you become known as a content-rich speaker. 

4. Use all 4A’s for Anchors (Anecdote, Analogy, Activity, and Acronym) in every keynote speech or training session 

5. Use the 10:1 Rule of Thumb to determine how many points to make during your speech. If you’re speaking for 45 minutes, make no more than 4 major points and dive a mile deep into each one. Remember the old speaking proverb; 

When you squeeze your information in, you squeeze your audience out 

6. Make sure you provide a Roadmap (i.e. “First  you will pick up tools on how to breathe life into your speech, then you’ll see how to bring the audience to you, and finally, how to build a message that sticks.”) so your audience knows exactly where they are going. 

7. Use the Discuss and Debrief method to have your audience review and verbally express your message towards the end of your speech. Remember what Tom Hopkins said: 

 If I say it, they can doubt me. If they say it, it’s true 

Get them to say your message. 

Resource: These reminders come out of the course that helps you develop and deliver a captivating 30 to 60 to 90 minute speech. It’s called the Create Your Killer Keynote Home-Study Course for Speakers. 

7 Selling Reminders

1. Never sell a product (or service, idea, change, or yourself); always sell the result. 

2. Go across the EDGE (Esteem more, Do more, Gain more, Enjoy more) when selling your results and making your promises. 

3. Always state the result before the resource. For example, I ask some of my audiences the following: “Raise your hand if, a year from now, you’d like to be at least 3 times better than the speaker you are today (result)? Great then visit my free site at http://www.52SpeakingTips.com (resource) and get a free speaking tip each week for 52 weeks.” 

4. Create the Need for Now so your audience acts on your next step immediately. They will not act later. 

5. Put the power of reciprocity to work for you. It’s in peoples’ DNA to want to return the favor. 

6. Never make a separate sales pitch during your speech. Instead, make it an organic extension of your story using the Then, Now, and How approach.   

7. Put the process, not the person, on a pedestal. When you lift yourself up, you let your audience down. But you also bring down your ability to sell because unless you come across as similar (and not special), your audience won’t act on your message or buy anything from you. 

Resource: These reminders come out of the course that helps you make an extra $3,000 to $5,000 per speech by selling products and services. It’s called the Mastering Back of the Room Sales Home-Study Course for Speakers