Chris Brogan, as usual, has some really insightful tips about speaking. Chris says “Here are two really fast and important speaking tips for you to learn and understand. Start with answering your audience’s most pressing question: “what’s in this for me?” And then finish by giving your audience actionable takeaways. Making these two speaking tips top of mind becomes vital in delivering a presentation that matters. Too often, we have a tendency to clear our autobiographical throats before we dig into educating an audience. Then, we end with no real sense of what comes next. This means we leave people excited, but with nothing to do.”

Brogan provides us with an example: “Takeaways should be very actionable. If you’ve finished up your speech on how podcasting changes communication, give people an assignment to find five podcasts on iTunes and subscribe for a month. Take notes on the ways each show introduces information, etc. Review your current corporate communications documents. Do any lend themselves to a potential audio format as well?

By starting with WIIFM and ending with 5 takeaways – even if you do it in a creative way that breaks the mold a bit, people will feel like they better understand and appreciate your efforts to educate and entertain them.”

The WIIFM and ending with 5 takeaways gives you a structure, a roadmap. AdvancingWomen.com believes having a proven structure always makes a presenter….you…. feel more comfortable and confident and leads to a more effective presentation and better results. Your audience, after all, is coming not just to hear you, but to know what to do next on their own. The more they understand what they need to do next to execute on the main points of your presentation, the more successful you will have been and the higher your audience will rate you.  Always a good thing when jumping on the speaker’s circuit

Do you have any speaking tips or techniques to share?  If so, please jump in and add a comment.  Thanks

For the whole post, go here Two Important Speaking Tips

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