Speaker's Digest May 2003
In this issue:
- Opening Your Speech: The POW! Statement
- When the Boss Tags Along
- Informing or Persuading: You Make the Call!
Opening Your Speech: The POW! Statement
As a speaker, the first impression you make will affect how your audience perceives you. Make sure you start out strong, with energy, gestures, and eye contact.
Most of all, start your speech with something that will engage your audience immediately. At EMS Communications, we call that opening with a POW! statement.
A POW! statement is designed to get listeners’ attention right away. It’s the bait you use to attract your audience to you and your perspective. It’s the way you fertilize the land so you end up with a more productive garden. (OK, we’ll stop with the metaphors.)
Your POW! statement also can become a focal point of your presentation, something that demonstrates the need for your idea, the importance of your cause, or the reason your product works best. It’s not your full introduction, but something compelling, interesting, or funny that gets you started.
There are many types of POW! statements that we’ve seen used effectively. But here are some categories and examples that you might use to guide your planning:
Statistics. “60% of Americans say that telemarketing is the most disliked form of advertising.”
Quotes. “Legendary golf teacher and author Harvey Penick used to say “Once you make a decision, walk away from any second thoughts you had while considering other options.”
Surprising facts. “The Boeing 767 aircraft is a collection of 3.1 million parts from 800 different suppliers around the world: fuselage parts from Japan, center wing section from Southern California, flaps from Italy.”
Humor. “A reporter interviewing baseball great Yogi Berra once asked Yogi to play word association with him. The Yankee catcher responded ‘Sure!’ The reporter said: ‘Joe Dimaggio.’ Yogi responded: ‘What do you want to know about him?’”
Visual Aids. “Here’s an illustration of a heart patient’s clogged artery, and this is the same artery six months later, after our drug-eluting stent was surgically inserted.”
Questions. “How many times have you been frustrated by heavy traffic while you’re trying to get to an important meeting?”
In our seminars, we place a lot of emphasis on creating an effective opening that involves audiences quickly. Whether they’re thinking “prove it” or “tell me more,” you’ve invited them into your realm, and they’re more willing to come along for the ride.
Closed Circuit to Closet Comedians: Should you open with a joke?
Humor has been used effectively by many of the great speakers throughout history. But it has also been used ineffectively. Some people are very comfortable using humor, and some aren’t. Moreover, jokes can be appropriate in some speaking situations, and inappropriate in others. Our opinion: relevant humor that relates to your topic or makes a point can be a great way to open your presentation, but it’s not the only way. It’s most important to be yourself, and to let that guide your decision.
Your big presentation is just around the corner, and you’re feeling great. That is, until you find out that your boss will be coming along. (You can insert any very important person here, such as client’s boss, industry expert, or member of the board.) Before you begin doing mental cartwheels to ponder how you’re going to handle this significant visitor, stop and take a deep breath. Our advice? Don’t change a thing. You’ve put yourself into a great position to succeed. Just be yourself, approach your presentation with confidence, and give a great speech.
Planning your Content: Become Audience-Focused
When clients in our seminars begin to plan their presentations, we ask them to identify whether their speech will be persuasive or informative. It’s a simple question, but the answer is far more complex. We’ll present two scenarios, and ask you to help us decide.
An HR Director at a major mortgage company prepared his presentation to the employees on the new benefit plan the organization was adopting. The employees were not being asked to vote, because the company already chose this plan. The speaker’s job was to explain how the new system works, patiently answer questions, and deliver the forms that employees will need to enroll.
Informative or Persuasive? The phone lines are open . . .
Caller #1: Well, uh, I’d say informative because the speaker is just telling everyone about the new plan. Since they can’t, like, vote for the plan, the HR Director is INFORMING them about the change.
Caller #2: The first caller was way off base. This speech is persuasive and here’s why: if the audience perceives that the new benefit plan isn’t a good one, or is being adopted just to save money, their morale can dramatically affect the company. The HR Director needs to PERSUADE the employees that this is a good plan that will best meet their needs in the long run.
EMS says: We’re with caller #2. Employee perception is important. In this case, it’s the HR director’s job to demonstrate that the package is an improvement. That means delivering a persuasive speech.
Now let’s move onto the next situation: A product manager at a bank is introducing her new solution for corporate banking customers to a group of assembled sales managers. Her job is to explain how the new product works, and how it can be sold. In her remarks, she outlines the product’s features, its pricing structure, and the bank’s marketing strategy behind it.
Callers?
Caller #1: This one’s definitely informative, guys. She’s showing the product, telling the bank sales team about –uhh—something new that they can offer to their customers. She’s INFORMING them about some new stuff that, you know, will be part of their job now.
Caller #2: The product manager is not a casual pencil pusher. She’s a corporate professional whose job is to make this new product successful. Without a doubt, her ability to convince her audience of her product’s benefits will play a key role in their efforts to sell it. If the sales people are excited about it, they’ll be more likely to sell it. She needs to treat this as a persuasive speech.
EMS says: Caller 2 is right on the money once again. If this product manager is a good one, she’ll recognize that a passionate, energetic presentation will inspire the bank staff. A persuasive tone, during which she compares the benefits of her product to those offered by competing banks, will give her greater opportunities for success. (Caller #1 might get a lot out of our two-day workshop, “Sell It, Don’t Tell It.” We can also help him with his non-words.)
In case you haven’t noticed yet, we think most presentations are persuasive in nature. Focus on the benefits of your premise, make your recommendations clear, and support your thoughts with credible information from good sources. Present it in a way that demonstrates your excitement and confidence, and you’ll take your audience along with you.
Bill Mellin
President and CEO
New York State Credit Union League