Why this Public Speaker Held My Attention for 3 Hrs
When was the last time you listened to a speaker who actually held your attention for almost the entire presentation?
Just five hours ago, I was listening to a speaker who grabbed my attention and held it. Yes, he was good, but it was not because he was using a lot of slick or advanced public speaking tips.
He was using one of the most powerful public speaking formulas a speaker has in his/hers arsenal.
Tell a Story and Make a point.
Hour after hour, this speaker would tell stories and make points. Sure, he took time to define his content, use quotes, and make some humorous comments. However, He probably had a different story every 5 minutes or so.
After telling a story using effective story telling techniques, he would pause and drive home his point. Next, he would pause to let the point sink in.
Did it work? Yes.
Why is this public speaking tip powerful? Stories automatically hold people’s attention, especially if we use some good story telling techniques. All we have to do as speakers is weave our point into the story or bring it home at the end in a powerful way.
However, we must be careful not to make the mistake that many advertisements make. Do you remember the commercial about cowboys herding cats? How about a more recent one that features a white duck? Here is the million dollar question: what are those stories/scenes representing or selling? I must confess I have no clue about the herding cats commercial and just recently remember what the duck stood for.
We must tie the story and point together so well that if the audience remembers the story, they’ll for sure remember the point.
How can we apply this tip?
- Use stories throughout our presentations.
- Tie the story and point together so people remember both.
- Use effective story telling techniques to help our stories hit home.
(C) Arlen Busenitz – 2011
http://www.SpeakingInfo.com
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Leave a Reply