Mastering the World of Selling: The Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales

Chapter 18. How Can I Wow the Audience When Speaking?

Sam Deep

Ask Sam Deep

Imagine you just heard the best presentation of your life. Why was it so good? Why did it move you? Why are the ideas that you heard so memorable? It's because the presenter achieved many, if not all, of these 14 voice victories. He or she . . .

1. Analyzed the audience. The best presentations are shaped by the answers to these questions. How does the audience feel about you, the topic, and them being there? What hopes, dreams, and expectations do they hold? What are their values, beliefs, politics, and worldview? What about their mood and frame of mind? What prior knowledge do they have? Desire for detail? Attention span? What pleasure would they love to gain from your words? And most importantly, what pain do they desire to be set free from?

2. Knew the speech purpose. When your audience leaves your presence, what do you want them to think, feel, say, or do differently from when they entered your presence? In other words, what better future do you intend to create for them? This, not any topic or title, is the purpose of a great speech.

3. Made a confident, decisive, and interest-evoking introduction. When you read a novel, you often gauge the value of finishing the book while still on the first page. Audiences do the same to you. Let the first words out of your mouth be a quotation, a startling statistic, a strong or surprising statement, a thought-provoking rhetorical question, an immediate connection to a current ...