“Public speaking is the art of diluting a two-minute idea with a two-hour vocabulary.”
With political conventions still fresh on everyone’s minds, John Fitzgerald Kennedy certainly stands out as a great speaker, including his 1960 acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in L.A.
And his observation above underscores a mistake many speakers – especially political ones — often make.
Generally, audiences aren’t impressed by your extensive vocabulary, your ability to wax poetic, or your exhaustive explanations. Your primary goal as a speaker is to make listening as easy as possible for your audience. To do so, you should give it to them straight, simple, and concise.
In our public speaking workshops, we teach participants how to structure a message that is simple and persuasive. And then we help them achieve a connection with their audiences through an engaging delivery style. We focus on:
- How to organize a message that is simple and focused on listener needs. Speechworks teaches a simple formula for focusing on listener needs. We believe that if you have strong content, you will be more confident when you get up to speak.
- How to deliver the message in a style that connects with the listeners. We focus on eye contact and energy from your face, voice and body. Our coaches will give you private feedback on areas you can improve.
- How to answer questions in a way that inspires confidence. We teach you to embrace the Q&A portion of any presentation, prepare for the questions ahead of time, and when it comes to your answers, be brief.
Consider attending an upcoming workshop. Our world-class communication coaches will teach you how to keep it simple!
Joey Asher
Joey Asher has worked with thousands of business people helping them learn how to communicate in a way that connects with clients. His new book 15 Minutes Including Q&A: a Plan to Save the World from Lousy Presentations” is available now. He is also the author three previous books including “How to Win a Pitch: The Five Fundamentals That Will Distinguish You from the Competition”, “Selling and Communication Skills for Lawyers” and “Even A Geek Can Speak.”