Do you have great ideas? Are you are a storyteller? Are you afraid you could possibly sabotage your potential to deliver a pitch that will connect you to your audience? Do you doubt your ability to move the listeners to action?
If you are shaking your head yes, here are 3 tips to save your bacon!
Tip #1. Limit the length of your speech / pitch. It is recommended to stay within an 18-minute frame. That is enough time to strike a real and emotional connection with your audience. Limit the lengthy data and examples, and instead, get personal. The time restriction will force you to move along and tell the story without allowing your listeners to tune you off (or even worse fall asleep!).
Tip #2. Limit your points to three – or to five, at max. Offering three points is widely accepted as the norm. The audience’s memory will easily hold your these three points. Repeat them. Ask the audience to repeat them to you. This specific number of three will make it easy for your audience to move to action; it will avoid confusion. I do follow this technique in most of my blogs in fact!
Tip #3. Humor wins audiences. Do you know who has the lowest rate of divorce (disconnection) among married people? Comedians! Be aware. Test your humor in advance; it is an art. Humor will connect you, dissolving any lingering barriers between you and your listeners. Your humor should be on the light side – this is not your tryout for “Last Comic Standing”!
Speaking is a very serious business, and you should never underestimate the need to practice. My father gave thousands of sermons in his life. Even at his level of knowledge and experience he never skipped spending hours in preparing and rehearsing his weekly message. Practice will enable to deliver your comments the exact way you have planned and to deliver your story and the call to action with grace and inspiration.
Was this helpful? Are there any other techniques that you are using successfully? If so, share them with us in the comments below?
Until next time,
Yours truly,
Tommy Antonopoulos, Blogger for OfficeTime
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