The Top 3 Mistakes Speakers Make
About six thousand years ago Locks were invented - to keep shut doors, and treasure chests.
Top 3 Mistakes Speakers Make
And how to avoid them
One of the oldest designs is called an Egyptian lock - and examples of this style of wooden lock and key have been found in the ruins of Nineveh - the ancient capital of the Assyrian empire.
In this style of lock a wooden key - a wooden stick with six lumps on it, when inserted into the lock will shift six wooden pins up out of the way allowing the two halves of the lock to separate and open.
The lock and key design of the Egyptian lock with its movable pins was replaced by simpler latch and deadbolt designs during the Roman empire and the state of lock technology stagnated for thousands of years as the design secrets of the Egyptians were lost.
It was not until the Industrial Revolution that a modern lock design which included once more the idea of a key that shifted pins or tumblers within the lock was discovered and patented by Robert Barron in 1774. I say discovered because he had no knowledge of the Egyptian lock design and so invented it again himself.
How many techniques and technologies have been lost through history and are yet to be rediscovered by Indian Jones and modern day archaeologists?
Locks get in the way – they stop you accessing something
Let me tell you about three locks that get in the way of speakers – the 3 biggest mistakes most speakers make
I’ve coached and trained hundreds of speakers over the last two years and seen hundreds more speak in businesses, clubs and conferences. I’m often asked for my top tips to become a better speaker so here are the top 3 mistakes speakers make – and how you can avoid them.
1 – Thinking it’s all about you
The first and biggest mistake speakers make is to think it’s all about them. Afterall, they are the one in the spotlight that everyone is looking at. But to be a great speaker you need to focus first and foremost on the needs of the audience not yourself.
Take the focus test. When you stop speaking and step away from the mic – is your first thought: I hope they thought I was good? If it is (or something like that) then your focus is on you. If, however, your first thought is: I hope they found that useful – then your focus is on the audience!
Take a look at your script or listen to a recording of your talk – do you say I more than You?
The point of your talk is not to make you look good or feel good – it is not therapy in the microphone. Great speakers realise that the point of their talk is the make the audience feel good, to educate, inspire and influence the audience.
When you speak, when you write your script, when you tell a story – imagine someone in the audience asking the question: so what? What does this have to do with me?
Then make sure it is clear how this is relevant to the person in the audience
2 – Presenting facts instead of telling stories
Speakers are performers more than informers.
Listening to someone list facts is not only boring but it is hard to put those facts into context or remember them. Facts wrapped in a story are 22 times more memorable than facts shared on their own. So if you want anyone to remember the important information you are telling them – you had better wrap it up in a story.
Telling stories is the oldest form of human entertainment – well – perhaps the second oldest – but it is part of who we are. People love stories.
Ask yourself, what is the story behind your talk – how does the audience fit into your story – how will their story change as a result of listening to you speak today?
I give a presentation on Cyber Security to business owners. Rather than giving them lots of facts about this risk or that vulnerability and how many businesses get hacked every year – no one wants to listen to that – instead I tell a story about Vlad…
Vlad is sat in his pants in his mums basement in Moscow, and he wants to steal from you – let me share with you three ways Vlad can steal from you without ever leaving his basement and never having to even put on his trousers…
Telling a story is much more engaging
3 - Confusing quantity with quality
The third most common mistake people make when speaking is to try in include too much information in their talk – as if the sheer volume of content will convince the audience. Unfortunately, the opposite is usually true as the audience gets overwhelmed and confused with too much information and they simply tune out of what you are saying.
The human brain is always trying to save energy – and thinking hard actually consumes a lot of calories – this is why children come home from school and fall asleep. Not because they have been running around a lot but because they have been thinking a lot.
My wife is a puppy trainer and she often tells her clients not to get stressed about needing to take the dog out on long walks every day – especially in bad weather. Playing some games that make the dog think while tire the puppy out just as much as a run in the fields.
So when it comes to deciding what to include and what to leave out of your talk the mantra is always: less is more.
Aristotle pointed out that three is the ideal number of points to include in a speech – notice how many points I have included here… The human brain loves a tri-colon – a talk of three parts. It feels complete, it is easy to remember and easy to present. 3 is the magic number!
Pick the three most important things you audience needs to know and focus on those – including the other 17 wont help at all as no-one will remember them!
Unlock these three mistakes and you will be a much more entertaining, influential and effective speaker:
It’s not about you – focus on the audience – look at things from their perspective
Tell stories
Less is more – say three things not thirty
We might be in lockdown 3.0 but January 2021 is proving to be a record month for speaker training here at Malmesbury Speakers Academy. In particular the Speak with Confidence online course is very popular – especially at the moment as it is lockdown discounted from £197 to just £67
You can check it out at www.malmesburyspeakers.com/confidence
AND! my flagship coaching programme for people who want to launch a paid speaking business is busier than ever. If you are interested to taking part then we need to have a conversation – I don’t work with everyone but if you have got a story the world deserves to hear then you can book a free discovery session with me and we’ll spend 45 minutes working out how to get your speaker business launched.
If you’re someone who has enjoyed significant success or has overcome challenges and want to share your story for the benefit of others, then this coaching programme could help. You can find out more and sign up at www.malmesburyspeakers.com/bams