Unleash the Master Within
Passion is the thing that will help you create the highest expression of your talent. —LARRY SMITH, TEDx
Secret #1: Unleash the Master Within
Effective stories, slides, and body language are important components of a persuasive presentation, yet they mean little if the speaker isn’t passionate about his or her topic. The first step to inspiring others is to make sure you’re inspired yourself. The simplest way to identify that which you are truly passionate about is to ask yourself the question.
What makes my heart sing?” Once you discover that which makes your heart sing, the stories you tell, the slides you use, and the way you deliver your content will come to life. You will connect with people more profoundly than you ever thought possible. You will have the confidence to share what you’ve learned as a true master. That’s when you’ll be ready to give the talk of your life.
Master the Art of Storytelling
“Stories are just data with a soul.” —BRENÉ BROWN
Secret #2: Master the Art of Storytelling
Great speakers are indeed mavericks, adventurers, and rule-bending rebels who take risks. They tell stories to express their passion for the subject and to connect with their audiences. Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century and stories facilitate the exchange of that currency. Stories illustrate, illuminate, and inspire.
Have a Conversation
Don’t fake it till you make it. Fake it till you become it. —AMY CUDDY
Secret #3: Have a Conversation
Strength comes from the inside. Your delivery and gestures, mastered through hours and hours of practice, will enhance your overall message, but without passion and practice, your presence will be severely diminished. Your strength as a speaker comes from the inside.
Teach Me Something New
Everything I’m going to present to you was not in my textbooks when I went to school. —TITANIC EXPLORER ROBERT BALLARD
Secret #4: Teach Me Something New
Reveal information that’s completely new to your audience, is packaged differently, or offers a fresh and novel way to solve an old problem.
TEDx speaker and designer Oliver Uberti once said, “Every superhero has an origin story. So do you. Don’t follow someone else’s. Create your own masterpiece.” I find that most communicators are far more creative than they give themselves credit for. When they’re encouraged to unleash their creativity and to take an innovative approach to presenting their ideas, they rise to the challenge.
Deliver Jaw-Dropping Moments
Thou shalt not simply trot out thy usual shtick. —TED COMMANDMENT
Secret #5: Deliver Jaw-Dropping Moments
Every performer has at least one jaw-dropping moment—an emotionally charged event that your audience members will be talking about the next day. Every presentation needs one. Get one and use it. Your presentation content will make a better impact if it can be stamped onto the minds of your listeners.
Lighten Up
Over the past century a sense of humor has become a highly prized personality characteristic. —ROD A. MARTIN
Secret #6: Lighten Up
Humor involves some risk and most people don’t have the courage for it, which is why most business presentations are awfully dry and boring. It takes courage to be vulnerable, to poke some good-natured fun at yourself and your topic. The key is to be authentic. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. But if something makes you laugh, there’s a good chance it will make someone else laugh, too.
If you’re still not convinced that humor can help you win over audiences, think of it this way—studies show that humor is good for your health. Laughter lowers blood pressure, strengthens the immune system, improves breathing, increases your energy, and just makes you feel good. If you feel good, you’ll deliver a better presentation, and that’s something to smile about!
Stick to the 18-Minute Rule
I’m both challenged and excited. My excitement is, I get to give something back. My challenge is, the shortest seminar I usually do is fifty hours. —TONY ROBBINS
Secret #7: Stick to the 18-Minute Rule
Long, convoluted, and meandering presentations are dull; a surefire way to lose your audience. The 18-minute rule isn’t simply a good exercise to learn discipline. It’s critical to avoid overloading your audience. Remember, constrained presentations require more creativity. In other words, what isn’t there makes what is there even stronger!
Paint a Mental Picture with Multisensory Experiences
It is better to present an explanation in words and pictures than solely in words. —DR. RICHARD MAYER
Secret #8: Paint a Mental Picture with Multisensory Experiences
It takes courage to make your story so simple that a seventh-grader can understand it. It takes courage to build a slide with one word on it
It takes courage to show photographs instead of filling your slides with bullets points and text. It takes courage to pull out a feather and a blowtorch as Dr. Krane did without feeling silly. Metaphorically, it takes courage to stand on a milk crate for three minutes as Amanda Palmer did. Courage stands out. Courage gets noticed. Courage wins hearts and minds. Courage is what you need to deliver the talk of your life.
Find it, celebrate it, and revel in it. Courageous public speaking will transform your life and the lives of the people who listen to you. You have ideas that were meant to be seen, felt, and heard. Use your voice to astonish people, inspire them, and to change the world.
Stay in Your Lane
I don’t think of work as work and play as play. It’s all living. —SIR RICHARD BRANSON
Secret #9: Stay in Your Lane
The next time you deliver a presentation, you’ll be compared to TED speakers. Your audience will be aware that there’s a fresh, bold style of delivering information; a style that lifts their spirits, fills their souls, and inspires them to think differently about the world and their roles in it.
While the TED style is infusing our culture, TED speakers do share techniques in common—each person must find his or her own passion about the topic to make an authentic connection with the audience.
do not try to be Tony Robbins, Dr. Jill, Bono, Sheryl Sandberg, Richard Branson, or any of the other people you’ve read about in this book. They carved out a lane for themselves and drove in it exceptionally well. Stay in your lane. Hold the space. Be true to your authentic self—the best representation of yourself that you can possibly be.