Metaphor is a powerful rhetorical device that can bring life to your speech and your ideas.
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Balancing sentences are more likely stick in the mind of the audience and the human mind is drawn to the symmetry of the statement. A balanced statement is a believable statement.
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A great rhetorical device is to use three sentences which repeat their opening clause. Repetition conveys excitement. Repetition implies importance. Repetition reinforces the message.
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Rhetoric is the art of speaking to influence your audience. You can learn the key skills of rhetoric and immediately increase your powers of persuasion when speaking and presenting.
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I meet people every week who are starting their own business or thinking about doing so. They are talented, passionate and experts in their field. Many of them also hate the idea of having to talk about their business at networking meetings. It’s surprising how many people I meet at networking groups who confess in a stage-whisper that they really don’t like networking!
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For many of the people who attend my one-day and three-day speaking courses, one of the most challenging exercises, if not the most challenging exercise, is not one that involves standing up and speaking. You see, it’s not their speaking that is the problem, it is their writing. If you struggle with preparing and delivering talks and presentations, it may well be you have started trying to write your script before you have finished the important job of thinking about what you want to say.
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Great marketers don’t tell you about their products, they share the brand story. The world’s best journalists don’t simply report the facts, they find the human-interest story at the heart of the situation. And you – what’s your story?
The stories that we tell are far more influential with our audience that any list of facts and figures. As the saying goes: facts tell, but stories sell.
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Is there actually any difference between public speaking and presenting?
In reality there often is, with presenting seen as simply the sharing of information whereas public speaking is expected to entertain, influence and inspire its audience. But, don’t you think the world would be a better place if every business presentation also entertained, influenced and inspired everyone in the room?
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Sharing personal stories is one of the key elements of speaking with courage. When you speak with courage, then your audience will respond to your message. In order to be an effective speaker, you need to build rapport with the audience. This means helping them to know, like and trust you. One of the most effective ways to do this is to share a personal story. But how do you come up with a good story to share?
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Warren Buffet said the easiest way to add 50% to your market value was to learn how to speak in public. To mark International Small Business Day, here are 4 reasons why people find it hard to Stand up and Speak about their business – and how to solve them!
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Have you ever had that realisation, as you were half way through your PowerPoint deck, that not only is your audience bored with your presentation – but you are too!
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This week I share my Grab -> Give -> Goal approach to easily plan a short presentation or talk.
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The last thing your audience hears from you, the thing they are most likely to remember, is the end of your speech or presentation. Yet this part of the talk is often overlooked and underprepared by the speaker as we are so relieved to have reached the end of our talk we just want to get it finished and rush the ending.
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You lean forward in anticipation as the speaker takes their place, then your heart sinks as they turn to the projector screen and display their first slide. It has ten bullet points, three animations and the slide number in the corner says 1 of 196. You can feel the deep vein thrombosis forming in your thigh already. Welcome to death by PowerPoint.
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