We’ve been going for a few sessions already with this thought leader. Now we’re onto the next stage!

Have 3 main points – check.

Be relevant to the audience – check.

Use examples that will support the objective to achieve the intended outcome – check.

Use language appropriate to her audience – check.

Problem is, yesterday, I still found myself getting distracted. I started thinking about my next client, the rest of my to-do list for the day. In that split second when my mind wanders, I brought myself back (I guess it’s easier for me than a normal audience to ‘come back’, since I was paid to do the job? lol) I realised, she’s like a machine gun!

I read in the bible of communication – Made To Stick (an amazing book, by the way. Anyone on earth that needs to interact with another individual should read it (unless you only work with animals or objects? :-p) that when it’s the same, the brain switches off. Our brains are designed to pay attention to changes, as a primal protection for us from natural dangers. E.g. you don’t pay any attention what-so-ever to the streets you walk down every day, but if there’s a giraffe there one day, you’d pay attention. Or you don’t pay attention to your colleagues, but if one day they show up wearing a big bowler hat, you’d pay attention, right?

It dawned on me. I told my client, ‘you remember when you were young, at school, when the classroom was very chaotic and no one is listening to the teacher? The teacher yells, trying to get through the sea of noise?

Then suddenly he gives up, coz he’s been screaming at the top of his lung for 10 minutes. So he’s angry. He stays quiet.

All of a sudden, all the students realise the teacher isn’t speaking anymore. They stop the chatters. They turn to see what happens. They stare at the teacher, finally paying attention.’

That’s right. We pay attention to silences, because we pay attention when something is different. On the stage we are speaking the whole time, and the audience expects us to. So when we pause, they listen.’

Talk non stop if you don’t want anyone to listen to you!

A recent new client shows up – an important thought-leader for one of the leading think tanks, a seasoned speaker on the media. She wants help to prepare for an important panel at the UN.

She spoke very fast. After 20 seconds I drifted.. I stopped listening..

I asked, ‘Why do you speak so fast?!’

She replied, ‘I’ve got only 5 minutes and I’ve got lots to tell these important leaders!’

:-0

That’s the killer.

Most people I’ve worked with to prepare to speak at an important event just speak too fast!! Most of the time it’s because they want to say a 30-minute worth content in 5 minutes! It’s not rocket science but it’s just not mathematically possible!

And usually it’s coz they are experts, so they know A LOT.

They get invited to share what they know.

They have A LOT to share, they are passionate about what they do, so they are eager to pour out all the info they have in their heads.

So they rush through their very important info.

It’s about making choices.

It’s about letting go.

It’s about recognising that either I rush through LOTS, and in the end the audience remembers nothing, or I sacrifice, choose only 3 main ideas, and the audience remembers 3 things.

It sounds like an easy choice, but it’s hard when you are the expert coz all the points seem to be equally important!

What are we telling the audience when we rush through our key messages?

Contrary to what we want to say, we’re actually saying ‘don’t worry, this is not really that important. I’m going through this really quickly since you don’t need to digest it.’

Let’s work together now to maximise your impact!