11 Unusual Methods for Being a Great Public Speaker
From the blog The Altucher Confidential, by James Altucher
Scene from "The King's Speech"
1. Start off with a joke. This is a must. People need to laugh within the first 30 seconds or else you’re going back to your cubicle at the pencil factory and they will never remember you …
2. Get on their level. This has two meanings. I once fell off of a podium while pacing around giving a talk. I was very embarrassed. So now I always get off the podium and explain that I’m afraid to fall off so I’m just going to walk around if that’s ok with everyone. People laugh a little bit and it physically and mentally brings me onto their level …
3. Very important: I very very slightly slur my words. A very small slur. I don’t drink at all. But by slightly slurring my words it’s as if I’m telling my brain I’m a little drunk. When you’re a little drunk you don’t really care what people think of you and …
4. Try to use JUST one word plus one image per page. No more! You think people really want to come to a talk and read a novel? They want to look at …
5. Try to shock people on each slide. This keeps them awake. They’ve just been jolted with electricity. Like a taser. That hits their brain to keep them awake for another 30 seconds …
6. Self-deprecating. Very important to remind people that you have the same fears, worries, faults that they do. We’re all human. We all have lots of problems and we’re just trying to get from birth to death and solve those problems …
7. A talk should be a three act structure, like a play or a movie. Or like July 4 fireworks. In the first third of a talk, set up “GREED” – why they need to be listening to you. In the second part, set up “FEAR” – what could happen if they don’t listen. Then in the explosive third act, the grand show!
8. The Pretty Girl Rule. You need a pretty girl in your presentation. Remember, magicians always have pretty assistants. So I put one in the slide show.
9. Never ever self-promote. You have to come across as honest and not selling something. Nobody trusts a used-car salesman. So, in the final slide tomorrow, I have this book BUT I will, on purpose, yell at the person from Fidelity who organized the conference and say “I TOLD YOU NOT TO PUT THIS IN HERE!” and everyone laughs.
10. Simple facts nobody knows. I peek in at talks sometimes and there’s all these charts and data. Puke! Nobody remembers stuff. This isn’t college you know! Keep the facts simple.
11. Tell Stories. This is a must. Whenever anyone goes to a talk they are signing up for a couple of reasons:
