Speaking Success International

You only get one speech opening, so learn to make it work! There are special techniques that help you bond instantly with your audience. I call these “I-You-We” moments. I will talk about the power of “I-You-We” moments and how to create them.

You are making a speech. You have done your homework, and know who you are talking to and why. You have spoken at length with the client and are clear about what needs to be accomplished in your talk, and what the client wants the audience to feel and do as a result of your talk. The content of your talk is written. Now you need some slam dunk speaking techniques that will humanize you, create trust, and completely bond you with the audience you are with. And you need it fast.

Here’s what I do. I ALWAYS arrive early to my events and TALK to people. Walk the room, set your things up, find out what important happenings have surfaced. Find out if there any running company jokes, inside stories…Has the CEO used a new motivating phrase, has anything else been introduced, has anything gone wrong and provided humor? You can use all of this with your audience. It creates an “I-You-We” moment that creates trust and tells audiences that you care enough about them to know what is really going on with them.

Here are your Choices for your Slam Dunk Opening

The Three- Step Opening
1. To start off, ask two questions. The purpose of the first question is to unite your purpose and energy with the audience and capture their rapt attention. For example my real estate clients start with, “How many of you would like to completely own your own home someday?” Everyone in the audience raises their hand.
2. The second question addresses their problem. For example, “How many of you know exactly what you need to be doing TODAY in order to make that happen?” Not as many hands up this time. But everyone is paying attention.
3. Now that you have their attention you tell them how you can help them. You tell them why you are there, what you want them to know, why it is important to them to have this information from you, and why especially You want them to know it.
4. You are all in the room for a reason. Underline the reason and tell them why you care and why you are the person to help them.

This a no-fail hook that gets the audience working with you right away. Adapt this model to your industry (Finance, Medicine, Law,) and you will have a powerful introduction that will make your audience really want to be with you and listen to what you have to say. I use this for shorter length speeches when I have to get right to the point.

Share a Story
Facts Tell, Stories Sell. Tell a vivid story about a client and his or her problem and describe how your care and expertise solved it for them. This is the “conceptual” section of your speech. The conceptual learners will make connections to their lives and will long remember your message. Paint pictures verbally, use humor, sentiment, drama, wisdom, poignancy (pathos, logos, and ethos of Aristotle are still the best.) Use a surprise ending that is upbeat, and you will be unforgettable.

Share Some Numbers
Some of your listeners will in fact hear only this. The pragmatics are there, so you better have something for them. My real estate clients again, “Every single person in this room could have saved thousands of dollars by working on their credit score during the year before purchasing their house. 75% of the public overpays by up to 80% at closing on a higher mortgage rate that would have been lower if they had done just a few of these things…” Then tell you audience how they can improve their future. Tell them how you can help them. Tell them you are going to tell them how to save money.

Use a quote. Humor and drama both work.
“When you are going through hell, keep going.” Winston Churchill
“When you see a fork in the road, take it.” Yogi Berra
“They were the best of times, they were the worst of times. They were the times that tried men’s souls” Charles Dickens
Then say something like, “Everyone relates to this, it sounds like he is describing today doesn’t it? Does any one here today feel like this?” State a startling fact about your quote as a second sentence, and go into your interpretation as to why it is relevant right now to your audience.

The Amusing Anecdote
Use what you learned by arriving early. I once spoke to a corporate group who had all gone bowling together the night before and were still “up” from it. I started with “Folks, I looked at your bowling scores from last night. (Big audience laugh.) Where’s Bob Carruthers? (Huge audience laugh.) Bob, do you really work here or did they bring you in as a ringer? I’m scared of YOU!” They loved it . When you bring this into your speech it is another “I-You-We” moment and it creates a connection with you and them.

“I-You-We” moments are powerful. They help you create a shared point of view that is very important when speaking to an individual or group of people. When you lead with your shared point of view, you establish an immediate connection. You are all in the same room together. What unites you? Identify it and speak to it and your audience will be with you all the way.