The New Articulate Executive: Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader, 2nd Edition

Don’t Switch Gears

The key to getting the biggest bang out of the rocket is to avoid making the mistake everyone else makes. You will often hear people say, “Now I’d like to switch gears ...” or “Now I would like to move on and discuss ...” or “Let me turn now to something else ...” Suddenly your audience gets the incorrect impression that you have five, six, seven themes. Do that, and all could be lost. This can be a fatal error and must be avoided.

Without your guidance, audiences don’t know which newly introduced subject may be your theme. Worse, let’s say you are just one of many speakers at a two-day event, and all the other presenters make the same mistake of trying to talk about half a dozen points separately with no effort to connect ...