Page 72 - MSC-Corporate Speaking

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YOUR MESSAGE – WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY?
“One of the questions I most often ask developing speakers is, ‘What are you trying to say?’ The most frequent reply is, ‘That’s a good question. I’m not sure.
I think I will need to give that some more thought!’”
– Roddy Galbraith
There are many different factors that go into the consideration of how you can be most impactful as a presenter or a communicator. One of the most important of these, particularly for a developing communicator, is the structure of your presentation.
In its simplest form, you will almost always have the key elements:
1. Some kind of a beginning 2. Some kind of a middle
3. Some mind of end
It sounds ridiculously simple, but just thinking about your presentation in these stages helps you focus on what is really important, and what really isn’t.
Always keep in mind that your presentation is not about you. Very often people think it is. But it’s not. It’s about the audience. And if you think about it, at the end of your presentation, they are the ones who determine whether you’ve been successful in your attempt to influence, persuade, educate or inspire... not you!
This simple structure holds true whether you are speaking for two or three minutes, or eighty or ninety minutes.
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