Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to keep your remarks brief. If you
Speaker 1: have been called upon to speak in public, one of
Speaker 1: the best things you can do for your message and
Speaker 1: for your listeners is to say it as clearly as possible.
Speaker 1: If you are a regular listener of this podcast, you
Speaker 1: know that one of its defining features is brevity. I
Speaker 1: am a big fan of short things that includes public remarks.
Speaker 1: Alas when people are called upon to speak in public,
Speaker 1: it seems like in many cases they weren't expecting this,
Speaker 1: or else they didn't think it through. They have a
Speaker 1: point they think they would like to make, but they're
Speaker 1: not sure that they have made it, so they repeat it,
Speaker 1: or they meander into other things, thanking folks more than
Speaker 1: once and worrying about forgetting people, and then trying to
Speaker 1: make a joke about being nervous and well, you've seen this.
Speaker 1: An audience that started out warm and interested winds up
Speaker 1: looking at their phones as the babbling goes on. A
Speaker 1: better approach is to be thoughtful, so you can be brief.
Speaker 1: If you know you will need to address the group,
Speaker 1: or there is a reasonable chance that this could happen.
Speaker 1: Think about your point. What do you want the audience
Speaker 1: to remember. What's a good story or some evidence that
Speaker 1: could illustrate this point. Practice your talk, time yourself, try
Speaker 1: it again and see if maybe you can take out
Speaker 1: something that isn't helping. Yeah, pretend you had to pay
Speaker 1: a dollar a word. Would all of those words be necessary?
Speaker 1: It's okay to write down notes if you don't think
Speaker 1: you will remember what you want to say. Reading from
Speaker 1: notes is better than stumbling around and forgetting things, then
Speaker 1: going back and distracting people from your point. If you
Speaker 1: have a few points you are going to make, it
Speaker 1: might help to say that up front so people know
Speaker 1: what to expect and know that you will be brief,
Speaker 1: so it is worth listening to everything you say. I
Speaker 1: want to say three things I love about the groom,
Speaker 1: then you tell a funny story to illustrate each point.
Speaker 1: Or I am opposed to this new parking lot for
Speaker 1: three reasons and just want to share some evidence on
Speaker 1: each of these in the three minutes I plan to talk.
Speaker 1: When the remarks are clear, coherent, and to the point,
Speaker 1: then people get the point they can focus on the
Speaker 1: point instead of the scene the speaker is making. For
Speaker 1: the most part, when we are speaking to folks, the
Speaker 1: point is not us in our demeanor. It is what
Speaker 1: we are trying to convey. Now. I do understand that
Speaker 1: in some situations people have to speak without much preparation
Speaker 1: at all. I was pondering this when rich Strike won
Speaker 1: the Kentucky Derby this year. Rich Strike entered the race
Speaker 1: with eighty to one odds. The horses, trainer and owner
Speaker 1: were probably not expecting to need to talk to the
Speaker 1: media afterwards about their victory. I thought they did a
Speaker 1: reasonable job that said, it can be fun to daydream
Speaker 1: even in the face of the equivalent of eighty to
Speaker 1: one odds. You may never need to give a nineties
Speaker 1: second victory speech after winning something on a televised awards show,
Speaker 1: but you might need to give some sort of thank
Speaker 1: you speech somewhere. Why not think about what that would be.
Speaker 1: If you'd like to give one piece of advice or
Speaker 1: one nugget that has been helpful to your success, why
Speaker 1: not think about that. How could you tell that story succinctly?
Speaker 1: When you think about what you want to say, you
Speaker 1: can make your point without the extraneous stuff that makes
Speaker 1: people stop listening. And when people listen to you, you
Speaker 1: will likely get to say more in the future, so
Speaker 1: keep your remarks brief. It's all about conveying something that
Speaker 1: matters and showing respect for the people you are speaking to.
Speaker 1: In the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
Speaker 1: that's b the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.