They say you have 90 seconds to make a first impression. There’s no time to warm up your listeners, give them detailed context, or tell them a joke. You have one goal, and that is to be bold. Successful leaders have learned the techniques needed to master getting people’s attention, holding their interest, and commanding the room.
Creating Curiosity With Bumper Stickers
Bolding bold right at the start is hard. You have to use a proven technique that will pique your listener’s curiosity, and make them want to seek the answers with you. A good Public Speaking coach will teach you how to discover your unique, personal characterizations for the messages you want to convey. I call them Bumper Stickers.
I started using the term, Bumper Sticker, because too many of my earlier clients were overstuffing their presentations. They would go on and on and on, circling around what it is they wanted to say, rather than getting to the point. Asking for just the title or the headline didn’t work either. Demanding just a Bumper Sticker phrase meant, “keep it as short as possible.” Some would argue, “But don’t have to explain it?” Yes, but say it first and explain it second, not the other way around.
Learning how to discover your Bumper Stickers for yourself takes time. Your Public Speaking Course will give you the techniques you need to craft those Bumper Stickers based on what you are expected speak about and what is important to each specific audience.
Deliver a Road Map of Anticipation
A Bumper Sticker is such a bold statement that it will leave your listeners wondering, How? What? or Why? That is exactly what you want them to do, explain what you mean. But don’t fall into the trap of launching into all of the details. You need to lead them further using the Rule of Three.
Determine the three ideas that are important for your listeners to know to understand your Bumper Sticker. By stating the three ideas, without the details, will give your audience a clear Roadmap of Anticipation. They will know what to expect and will be waiting to hear the details that go into each one.
A good Public Speaking course will give you insights into why this bold approach works so well when meeting with upper management, or reporting to the board. You are supplying the overview and the takeaways. The details can be shared upon request.
Don’t Leave Out Half the Message
50% of a message is conveyed with body language. If you’re leaving it out, you’re only telling half the story. Pick what words of your Bumper Sticker you want to punctuate with your body language. This is not only a great way to sell your message, but it is also a very effective technique for feeling bold right when you start.
Public Speaking training will show you how to combine all of these bold techniques together seamlessly. Being bold is an expectation for your listeners. They want to know that you believe in what you’re saying, so they can trust in that sense of commitment. They’ll know you’re the one driving the bus, and commanding the room.
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