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The Rule of 3 (not 2 not 4)
From flowers to business presentations, think in threes.
When arranging flowers, balloon bouquets, or business presentations, do you use the rule of three? With flowers and balloons, optically we prefer odd numbered or non-symmetric arrangements. Impress your friends with this tip, don’t make a balloon bouquet of two or four balloons, stick with three!
How do you use the rule of three in business?
- First, prioritise the three most important points you want to communicate.
- Second, relate each point to something familiar to your audience, capture their interest and attention.
- Third, be consistent and repeat the three points to reinforce your message.
Think about your next presentation. What are the three most critical points you want to communicate. Do you begin and end by reinforcing them? If you are using PowerPoint, limit your bullets to three per slide. This forces you to think in threes and prioritize your communication.
Lastly, how do your points relate to your audience?
Are they a call to action?
Why are they important?
How will they benefit your audience?
A wise person once recommended, “Tell them what you are going to tell them. Then finish by reminding them what you told them!”
Start practising the rule of three. You will be surprised how well it will work for you!
Any public speaking involves delivering information to people who are,
in one way or another, waiting to get some information.
This is a key reason why you should pay careful attention as you prepare to make your speech and as you plan to meet your audience.
Some people are naturals at public speaking and getting to audiences, , the fact of the matter is most people are not good at making speeches and the vast majority of people are terrified of delivering a speech. This should not discourage you in any way, since many experts have studied this and worked hard for you to deal with these problems in speech making.
If you are at a point that you are going to deliver a speech, you have probably got to a stage in your life where your thoughts are worth something to other people, this means that in principle, people want to get into your head and they appreciate your talent or skill in some particular field, the people that will listen to you have something to learn from you. But you are not thinking of these people, are you? You are thinking of the few people that probably know more than you and will be in the crowd. This is a big mistake, first because you should think of the person that will profit from your knowledge and get to them, and secondly because you have something in you that will benefit even the ones that you fear.
The key to all this is simple, its preparation, it’s the most basic, banal and trivial thing, but it is the base of any success in any field.
Lets think about speech making preparation.
First think about your audience, who is the average person coming to your speech, what does he know, what does he need to know, what will inspire him and make him listen carefully to what you have to say, and how will you get him to appreciate your speech. It is not that difficult, its actually good to start at this point, remember – people want to know what you are thinking, you just need to keep them interested, and I am sure that you have interesting thoughts.
Rehearse,rehearse, rehearse this seems clear to me, practice the speech again, and again, and again. Obviously I know that you don’t have all the time in the world to perfect it, but, there is a value to this, timing your speech, and pre set spots in which you know you need to change your tone, your speed and rhythm, will make you a better speaker and a better speech planner. So rehearse your speech and listen to yourself while doing it. Start strong, confident, talk about things you know no one can beat you on or undermine you, let the confidence and the experience shine through, people feel that, and if you do this right, you will own your audience.
PREPERATION IS KEY
I like to go up to the front or onto the stage before the presentation starts and check that I know how to use any equipment and walk around a bit to get the feel of things. Its best if you can get there early before your audience arrives then spend sometime mixing with the delegates that way you have friends and supporters in the audience
Think about your entrance and the first 3 minutes of the speech, pay attention to the way you walk in, project confidence and calm, do not rush into anything, even if you are late or under a tight schedule do everything slowly and thoughtfully, show the room that you are entering your speech zone and that no one is allowed in, they can sit and wait for a few seconds (which seem like hours) – its only a few seconds. Make sure you get the attention of the crowd, look up and into the eyes of your audience and start strong. Pick the words of your opening carefully, and trust yourself.
In the next article I will review more of the speech making basics. Good luck.
Tony
Public Speaking: The Power Of Words
Words hurt, heal, motivate, and aggravate. They are powerful. They control emotions and can even control a person physically.
A word is worth a thousand pictures.
“Come here.” Two words that move a person from there to here.
“Write this down.” Three words that cause people to put words on a page.
“Remember a time when you felt angry.” Seven words that can create an overload of emotions.
Your words are power. Think of the number of people you have made smile by…
Keywords:
public speaking, presentation skills
Words hurt, heal, motivate, and aggravate. They are powerful. They control emotions and can even control a person physically.
A word is worth a thousand pictures.
“Come here.” Two words that move a person from there to here.
“Write this down.” Three words that cause people to put words on a page.
“Remember a time when you felt angry.” Seven words that can create an overload of emotions.
Your words are power.
Think of the number of people you have made smile by saying,
“I really appreciate you.” Or the number of people you have hurt by saying, “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you do anything right?”
Words possess just as much power when spoken to a crowd of a thousand as in a one on one conversation. It’s one thing to get one person excited, but impassion an entire group, and you have irresistible intensity on your side.
Use your words more effectively…
1. Understand their influence. Do not use or choose your terms lightly. A wrong word can turn an audience from friends to fiends. The better you know your group the better you can tailor your terms for their benefit.
You get to choose the outcome. Want the group to be charged, mad, excited, encouraged, content, or happy? You can produce any of those by using the right words in the right way.
2. Don’t be afraid to be edgy. Too many speakers are soft. You can be tough without being obnoxious, or insulting a group’s intelligence. You can humorous and still make a hard-hitting point.
I spoke recently to a large group of people to tell it like it is!” The words I chose challenged the group without breaking them.
What about your words?
Do you toss them out lightly, or with precision and power?
Your words can change lives and influence millions. Choose and use them well.
Have a great day!
Most people have a fear of speaking to a large group. This is a totally normal apprehension. People may visualise the audience laughing at them, or shouting out. This is an extremely rare occurrence, unless you are a politician.
Most people listening to you are aware of the pressures you are under and would never change places with you.
These guidelines will help you to overcome your fears.
1. Know your subject. Read through your presentation beforehand. Read around the subject, so that you are confident that you know more than your audience, even after you have spoken. If you know your subject then you will come across in an interesting way and keep the attention of your audience.
2. Expect to do well. Your expectations are obvious in your body language. If your audience sees that you expect to do badly, you will do badly. Expectation is vital.
3. Look at your audience. Eye contact is vital if you are to judge their understanding so that you can change the pace of your delivery if necessary.
4. Use notes. You should never, never read your speech from a sheet.
5. Slow your speech down. This makes you appear more confident and enables your audience to take it in more easily. If you are talking slower, it is easier for your audience to maintain their attention, and momentary lapses in their concentration mean that they miss less.
6. Vary the tone and level of your voice. This maintains interest. You should speak clearly and project your voice, rather than shouting. Talking quietly in key segments means that your listeners will need to actively listen to those parts of your presentation.
7. Avoid excessive body movements and gestures. Hand gestures can be used for emphasis only.
8. Keep your hands and thumbs visible. Holding your hands out, with the thumbs uppermost is a very powerful dominance gesture. Watch politicians speaking, they all use this gesture.
9. Rejoice in the endorphin high that you will feel when it goes well.
Best Regards
Tony
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