The Aussie Speaking Guy

One of the greatest challenges new and even not-so-new speakers and presenters face when preparing a speech, is ‘where to start’.

They become so overwhelmed at the thought of presenting that all logical and creative thought goes out the window. New public speakers become overwhelmed, the fear kicks into high gear and all creativity is lost and they suffer from ‘information overload’. If you are new to the world of public speaking and presenting,
I hope that this will give you some ideas on what to add to your talk outline.

Whenever I’m preparing a new presentation whether a keynote or a workshop I ask myself
‘three important questions’ to insure that the information I’m using is of value to my listener.

So here’s the questions:

1. Why is this chunk of material important to my audience?

(Think about that carefully…it might think it’s important to you, but what about your audience? Is it important to them?)

2. What is my objective in sharing this material with my audience?

(In other words, what you trying to achieve by sharing this nugget of information? Is it to motivate…is it to raise their interest…are you wanting to provide practical guidance? Whatever it is, think about your objective before you add it to your outline.

3. What’s in it for them?

This is very important. Keep these 3 questions with you when you are preparing your outline. There’s an old story about a radio station that everyone tunes into called, WIIFM which stands for, ‘What’s In It For Me?’ Everyone listening to your presentation will be asking that question…sub-consciously.( ‘What’s In It For Me?’) So by keeping those questions in mind, it’ll help you keep on track to making your presentation about your audience and not about you.

Another point to keep in mind is to identify your main points.

You may have collected a ton of information but look carefully to what would be of the most value to your audience and don’t settle for general information but be more specific about what you’re saying.

Sift through your material like a gold miner searching for gold and identify the main points that you need to discuss in order to develop and achieve your objectives.

Follow these basic rules and I’ll ensure that the information you’re delivering is valuable.