Getting past the BLAH BLAH BLAH

You are about to make a speech. While all eyes are focused on you, appearances are deceiving. John is thinking about his 4 o’clock meeting. Suzy is mentally preparing to ask her boss for a raise. Jill considers her to-do list that includes calling the doctor to get her child’s prescription refilled. And Joe’s thoughts are on his trip to Cancun next week.

Whether you are speaking or writing, you have to put a lot of thought into your opening because it’s the most important part.

People multi-task as they listen

Yes, I hear your protests that the great ideas must be developed or that complex information needs some background. But the plain and simple truth is that if you don’t get people’s attention right away, what follows doesn’t matter.

Speakers have a special challenge because, unlike text, your message cannot be picked up at another time. You operate in the moment with only a few seconds to convince your audience that they want to listen to you. If you have a dynamic beginning, the rest of the speech will usually fall into place.

But what about the niceties that are expected on formal occasions at the beginning of your talk – the thanks for the kind introduction, the recognition of important people in the audience or the other social requirements that make the right people feel valued? Don’t worry about them. Audiences generally expect those gratuitous remarks and tune in or out depending upon whether they have any interest in the people you are mentioning.

Use one of the classic techniques to develop an opening to your speech that grabs attention:

• Start with a story.
• Find a statistic or piece of data relating to your talk that is surprising.
• Use a memorable quote.
• Ask a rhetorical question.

Once you’ve gotten your audience’s attention, use your energy, pacing and logic to hold them. Then work on a great conclusion that ties back to your introduction.

Next time, I’ll talk about how to leave your audience with a memorable takeaway.

Need ideas for a speech?  Check out SpecialSpeeches.com I work with individuals and small businesses. I recognize that people who have many other talents may not have the time or expertise to write toasts, tributes or speeches that honor special people on special occasions. If I may assist you with a special speech, please contact me at info@pmwriting.com.

Twelve Angry Men: Perception does not equal reality

I recently watched Twelve Angry Men, a movie that will be used in a leadership course I am helping teach. As I watched it, I thought about how true and how shallow the PR maxim “Perception equals reality” is.

The story line is about 12 men serving on a jury who have to decide whether to find an 18-year-old defendant guilty of murdering his father. A guilty verdict would automatically mean that the young man would go to the electric chair.

As they start to discuss what would seem to be an open-and-shut case, only one juror holds out on the initial vote to say the kid was not guilty.  He stood alone because he thought they should at least discuss the case further before declaring the defendant guilty in a rush to get home to dinner.

You should see the movie if you haven’t. I won’t spoil it by giving away the plot but I can tell you it is a revealing study in perceptions.  The movie also reminds us that perceptions can change if we just look more closely at facts, recognize our own prejudices and  avoid jumping to conclusions.

Henry Fonda, who played the protagonist and hero in this drama, asked the right questions and said the right words.

What does this have to do with special speeches? Perhaps not much. But if you are trying to bring an audience to your point of view, you should understand as much as you can about them, especially if they are not inclined to think like you do.  If you know something about their lives, what they consider important, and what assumptions and biases they have, you will be much more effective at making your case.

It is also helpful to remember the danger of assumptions when you are listening to others. Ask yourself what filter of assumptions and biases you apply to their messages.

The PR world is correct: perceptions do matter.  The industry is built on the certainty that people will react based on how they perceive a person, product or situation. But wouldn’t it be better if we occasionally applied a cleaning agent to that filter that shapes our world view just to test how closely our perceptions match reality?