Ep. 26 Part 2 | Speak to Win: Master the Art of Public Speaking

In episode 26 we dive deep into the anatomy of a winning speech. We talk about crucial components such as the *hook*, the importance of the topic, telling a unique story, providing memorable "_jaw-dropping_" moments, and ensuring a strong closing.
We recommend writing out the full speech, rehearsing it, and then trimming it down to bullet points. Recording your speeches on video can aid in spotting any awkward mannerisms or habits.

In our discussion, we also emphasize that the length of the speeches should not exceed 18 minutes and PowerPoint slides, should they be required, must comprise more images than words.

We also bring to light common mistakes that speakers tend to make which include turning their speech into a sales pitch, lack of a clear point in the talks, and focusing too much on their company rather than the main ideas.

Not only that, we share some practice tips including testing out humor in your speech, practicing in an audience setting, and even using your kids for honest feedback.

We discuss follow-up options like tuning into the Miss Biz podcast and being part of the social media discussions. Moreover, we extend our support to the viewers by offering to help improve their speaking skills through the Miss Biz podcast community and Zoom calls for interactive discussions and support.

We encourage our viewers to write reviews as it significantly helps the podcast grow! Tune in to know more about mastering the art of public speaking.

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Full episode transcript:

Brooke: Have you ever had a favorite radio show, talk show, or podcast where even though you had never met the host, you liked and trusted them anyway? I used to listen to the Bobby Bones Show, and even though I had never met Bobby, Eddie, Amy, or Lunchbox, I felt as though I knew them. When Amy gave a recipe for a green smoothie, you'd better believe I was going to try it. We all know that building relationships is the key to business growth. But what if, instead of building relationships one by one, we could build them by the dozens, hundreds, or maybe even thousands.

Public speaking has the ability to increase our influence exponentially. Own that stage. [♪upbeat music playing. 

Rachel: Did you know that the fear of public speaking is the world's number one phobia and is believed to affect about 75% of people across the globe? That number to me is mind-blowing because out of everything that is complained about, spiders, snakes, claustrophobia, public speaking is the highest. According to Chris Anderson, author of the book, TED Talk, the reason why we are often so scared of speaking in front of a crowd isn't that there is a giant spider hidden on the podium or that the audience is bearing knives ready to attack if we don't impress. We are often anxious to speak in public because there is something at stake, which is our reputation. We value what others think about us a lot.

We crave the respect, the support, and the affection of others, and our future happiness depends on people liking us to some degree. So we've come to believe that what happens on a public stage can either make or break us. Fortunately, when it comes to public speaking, you can use your fear as an incredible asset. With the right mindset, you can turn your fear into the motivation that will persuade you to prepare for a talk properly. So in terms of Brooke, she is an excellent public speaker.

She goes on stage and she just has this natural gift and ability to captivate the audience's attention. Not only are they paying attention, but it's so quiet. Most of the time it's so quiet you can hear a pin drop, which really is an art and a skill because a lot of times in these big conventions or events, people are still carrying on conversation. So when you can take away all distractions and make people focus on just you and really listen to what the message that you're trying to convey. That is a true gift.

So I'm super excited for today's episode so that we can hear all the great information and insights that Brooke has to share.

Brooke: Thank you so much for that, Rachel. And public speaking has become something that I really enjoy. And so I've put together kind of this outline of what I call the anatomy of a winning speech, so that you can create speeches that you can feel comfortable and confident about presenting. First, I want to dispel the myth that the ability to speak publicly is an innate talent given to only a select few. It's actually a broad ranging set of skills that can be learned.

So if you believe that you just don't have the knack for it, that is not true, you can hone that skill and become a talented public speaker in the same way that anyone else can. No matter how low you currently rate your ability to speak in front of a crowd, there are things you can do to not only improve that but to become excellent at it. So in addition to just planning your speech though, you want to plan your introduction. You want there to be anticipation and credibility that's built before you ever take the stage. So choose a person to introduce you, preferably someone you know well and who has an authentic enthusiasm.

So you might have guessed it, anytime I give a public speech, Rachel Bolz is who gives me an introduction. She is incredible at it, and I'll let you tell her, or her tell you a little bit about how that experience has been for her. But You want someone who's gonna be enthusiastic, but also be able to speak from the heart about you. You can write the introduction for them. If there's someone who just doesn't know what to say, but has the skillset to say it well, then you can write it for them.

It should be impactful and highlight your biggest successes, but also be short enough that it can be memorized or stated without reading it utilizing bullet points or something like that. If possible, as you come to the stage, play pump up music that helps build the anticipation of your speech as well. But if that's not possible in the venue where you are, then your person who introduces you needs to be especially energetic as they announce your name and that kind of looks like and now ladies and gentlemen please welcome to the stage and just really be energetic and full of enthusiasm

Rachel: yes So when Brooke first started having me introduce her, I was completely petrified and I didn't necessarily want to say that to her because I didn't want to complain. And at the end of the day, if Brooke asked me to do something, I'm going to do it and I'm going to do it with a smile on my face. So what kind of helped me is she gave me some pointers of things to say but also I know her very well. So it was a topic that I was very comfortable with doing. It was something that I can rehearse and if I can't memorize it, I can at least remember the majority of it.

And just being able to, for me, to feel the emotion. Like when I think about Brooke, I think of someone I care about very much someone I believe in someone that I trust so of course I can introduce her with enthusiasm and excitement regardless of how nervous I may have been when

Brooke: I initially started. So find your Rachel, find your person who can introduce you, who knows you, who cares for you, and who can do it enthusiastically. So plan your introduction. Don't just show up and be the speaker because you want that energy to start before you even step on stage. So if you plan it out, then you will have an impactful beginning.

You will captivate the audience before you even get there because they will think this is someone important coming to the stage. I need to pay attention.

That something is called an idea, a mental framework that they can hold on to walk away with value and be changed by. In other words, a takeaway. If they have one takeaway from your speech that they remember, then that is an A plus speech. They will remember you. And that's usually a sign for me as well if I've done a good speech is when people come up to me weeks and months and years later and say, this was my takeaway from your speech.

And because of that, I did this or change that or bought the book you mentioned or whatever it was. They took action in some way because of something that I said. That is how you can know that you're giving an effective speech. So beyond that, you want to pray about what God wants you to share and what the people need to hear. And Anytime I give a speech, this is where I start.

I just sit and pray and say, God, what is the message that these people need to hear and that you want me to share? And I just take time and do that and as I'm in that time of prayer eventually ideas start coming to me and I get that central topic you really want to just have one key point that is the takeaway that you're trying to drive home.

Rachel: So it's almost like you're writing something backwards

Brooke: where you come up with your main topic and then you develop it from there. Yeah, absolutely. You gotta have your topic first. And so ask yourself the simple question, do I have ideas that deserve a wider audience? If you can't answer this question confidently, then you need to get to work and come up with something that is worth sharing.

Beyond praying, you also can look for ideas through reading or reading books or listening to audiobooks or listening to other speakers or podcasts to get new ideas. Another thing that you can do is reflect on your work over the past four to five years. What really stands out? What are two or three things that you've done that you are most proud of? I'm gonna share the anatomy of a five-minute speech that I gave at a conference recently to give you a tangible example of these tips in action.

So as to choosing my topic, I knew that at this conference I was going to be debuting my law firm's music video called All About That Case.

Rachel: Which if you haven't checked it out, you better look it up on YouTube because it is amazing.

Brooke: It was really fun and it's a parody of the Meghan Trainor song, All About That Bass, and we changed it to all about that case and Rachel and I are singing and dancing and it's a lot of fun. So yes, please if you haven't seen it, check it out. But we were debuting the video at this conference and it was a conference for chiropractors. So hundreds of chiropractors would be in the room. So I needed a topic that was going to be relevant to the video.

So I chose the topic of taking risks in business because I thought it was something that would apply to the video, which was not something you traditionally would see from a law firm, and also would apply to chiropractors who are business owners themselves, and who could relate to taking risks sometimes to try to grow your business. So you I came up with that topic. And then next is your hook. You want to tell us a little about the hook?

Rachel: Yeah. So your hook is is what you have to start off with you have to jump out the gate with it and Don't thank your guests for being there. Don't say my name is don't say today We're gonna talk about X Brooks hook was raise your hand if that was the stupidest video you've ever seen. And of course some people raise their hands. So then Brooke said excuse me while I go cry.

And will you tell them tell us a little bit about why you use that hook?

Brooke: Yeah. So in using this hook, I got their attention right at the beginning because I was asking them to participate. I was asking them a question. I said, raise your hand if that was the stupidest video you've ever seen. So because they're having to respond, they are engaged, they're paying attention.

The second thing that this hook was designed to do is to bring some humor, especially when I said, Excuse me when I go cry, that got some laughs and incorporating humor into your, your speech is a way to present yourself in a likable way. If you aren't a funny person, naturally some things that you could do to bring humor into a speech are either one, make fun of yourself. That always works for me. Just crack a joke about yourself. People laugh at that.

And second, which is pretty easy, is you can incorporate some photos or some memes that go along with your subject matter. That is a pretty easy way to incorporate some humor into your speech.

Rachel: Humor is also a really good way to cover up any type of mistakes that you make. So for example, Brooke had me on stage one time and I did not know that I was going to be reading things across the room. The font was like this light yellow color and the contrast wasn't very good. Well, I have a stigmatism that I still haven't gone to the doctor for and I need to go see an eye doctor. And I was reading these questions and some of the fonts I could see and then others I just could not see at all.

And there was a room full of people and I just started making fun of myself. I was like, is there an eye doctor in the house? Like and then you know while I was trying to figure out how to solve that problem, I was just trying to make them laugh because I didn't want to just stand there and not know what to say.

Brooke: So that was the perfect way for her to handle that. Honestly, also too, it If people recognize that you're having a struggle of some sort, which she was wasn't able to see the screen, then they're they're naturally rooting for you because they know that you're kind of uncomfortable or if you're nervous too, and people can can feel that they they want you to succeed and they have a great amount of grace for you when you're in a position like that. And the final thing that this hook did for me is that it allowed me to make myself vulnerable by inviting them to criticize me from the very beginning. It was showing a sense of vulnerability. And if you let go of your ego, it comes across in your favor just in the same way as if you're nervous, people will let their guard down and start internally rooting for you because you are viewed as a vulnerable, genuine person.

Brooke: The author of the book, Ted Talks, Chris Anderson, said, willingness to be vulnerable is one of the most powerful tools a speaker can yield.

Rachel: I think that asking people to raise their hands in response to a question is a pretty good way to start a speech. It gets their attention and causes them to do some self-reflection as they wonder where is she going with this? Also they are automatically engaged.

Brooke: Yeah so if all else fails start your speech with raise your hand if and I've done that several times and I think it is It's a generally good way that you can start a speech if you don't have something else that is is a hook that you're wanting to use.

Rachel: Yeah, and you're commanding their attention at that point. So if you've ever been on stage before, sometimes in certain settings, it's very hard to get everybody to stop talking or to listen or to end their conversation. I remember one time we were having an event and everybody just kept talking and no matter what I said or did, at that point, they weren't listening. So then I just started being goofy and I was like, if I say crack, you say my back. And then everybody got into it because it caused them to participate.

It was corny. Some people laughed. So I think getting them to engage is key when you're starting your speech.

Brooke: Absolutely. So after you start with your hook, the next thing that I do in a speech is to explain to them why your topic is relevant or important by using an authority figure or statistics. So this is going to Google and doing some research on why this is an important topic. And for my particular speech, I referenced successful business owners. I said, anytime that I meet a super successful business owner, I asked them, what is the secret to your success?

And then the answer is always word of mouth referrals. And then I also referenced another authority figure who was Jesse Cole, the owner of the Savannah Banana baseball team, because he says that The way to get people talking about you is to create you wouldn't believe moments. So I laid the framework for why this was an important topic by referencing other authority figures. So that's step two after your hook

Rachel: So because it's what successful business owners say it's something that we need to pay attention to so using that statistic or that research or that data or like what Brooke did in Referencing that authority figure that is going to be a way to show them right off the bat why your message matters. Plus, when they think about someone that they know or they've had a good experience watching, it creates that connection right off the bat.

Brooke: So next, after laying the groundwork for why it's a relevant or important topic is to tell your story. Now, we all have a lot of experiences in our lifetime, so you have to choose a story that is relevant to your topic because everything you say needs to follow along the journey of your speech. You can't take rabbit trails and go talking about something off topic. So you have to find a story about yourself that conveys your unique identity, but also stays on track with the main topic of your speech. Conveying your unique identity and telling your story is probably the most important part of your speech.

If you do nothing else, but this, it will be a B plus speech, right, You will get high marks for doing nothing but telling your story and telling your story in a convincing and genuine way. So These other things will bring you to an A plus speech, but your story is probably the most important part.

Rachel: Scientific studies show that good stories excite the human brain, which results in a deep bond between the speaker and the audience. That is from Carmine Gallo, the author of the book Talk Like Ted.

Brooke: So the story that I shared in my five-minute speech at the conference was about an opening statement that I gave at a trial when I worked for the insurance company side of things. I talked about a time where I sang to the jury half of the insurance company's jingle and then stopped to see if the jury would sing back to me the second half of the jingle. This is not something you usually see on Law & Order, attorneys singing in the courtroom. Certainly you don't see jury singing in the courtroom. Incredibly risky.

Very risky. If these jurors did not play along with me, it would have gone down as the most embarrassing moment of my legal career. But to my surprise and relief, they sang and because they sang back to me the second half of that jingle. It was just this incredible emotional report building moment. And I told this story and went on to say how I won the trial by unanimous verdict of this jury and how it was, you know, such an impactful moment.

So what did that story convey about me? Well, it conveyed that you're a risk taker, you're creative, you're different, You're not like other attorneys. It

Rachel: showed that the jury liked you. Obviously, if they didn't like you, they wouldn't have participated in seeing the second half of the jingle. It also showed that you built a rapport quickly. It showed the audience that you have trial experience, that you win trials, you think outside the box, and you're willing to be different. So telling my story

Brooke: showed the jury all of those characteristics of myself, and I didn't have to tell them any of it. I didn't have to go up there and say, I'm a creative attorney or I'm different than other attorneys. I didn't have to say that because I told a story that in that they could infer that from they could they could recognize that without me having to tell them and that's the kind of story you want to tell about yourself find something that conveys what your unique identity is, but don't tell them. It would have ruined the moment if I in the middle of the speech said, and because I did that and because the jury sang back to me, then that means that I am super creative and jurors love me, right? That would have totally ruined the moment.

So I was conveying that message without saying it and people understood that I was unique and creative and that I had been to trial and all those things that Rachel said. And so that's what you want to look for. Find that kind of story.

Rachel: And I mean, honestly, that was the perfect story to say in front of a room with chiropractors because they are probably all using all kinds of different personal injury attorneys. But they were able to see that you are different, that you're not like anybody else. Especially if we backtrack a little bit before brooke got on the stage, another personal injury attorney got on stage and it was the most, yeah, it was, it was not the most exciting. I will say that they pretty much did everything that Brooke and I just told you not to do. They did and it was very quick.

But then when Brooke came, it completely captivated their attention and it was, you know, a complete 180 from what they just saw.

Brooke: And that other law firm in their defense did what typical law firms do. They got on the stage and said, we do this type of law. We'd love to work with you. We're great at what we do. And, you know, come see us in the back and we've achieved these different accomplishments.

And that is what people typically do when they get on stage and they have the opportunity to present themselves. But it was frankly a lost opportunity because they had a captive audience of potential doctors who could refer them the business and by not being more memorable they just kind of lost out on an opportunity.

Rachel: And they paid a lot of money to be there. True. They paid a lot of money to be there. So if you have the opportunity to shine, especially when you have a room full of people, make the most out of it. Make it the most memorable and engaging experience for your audience.

That way they will remember you and that will be what separates you from other individuals in your industry. You know, we're all about that case but that case no trouble all about that case about that case no trouble All about that case about that case no trouble all about that case about that case

Brooke: A boat's legal we are all about your case Text or call to schedule a free consultation for all your legal needs. BoltsLegal.com. And again, this speech was literally five minutes. So you can make a lot happen in five minutes. The video was three minutes.

So in total it was an eight minute presentation. And if you count Rachel's introduction, it was maybe another minute. So less than 10 minutes, our entire presentation. But I can tell you that many people came up to us after the fact and...

Rachel: There was a line of people waiting to talk to Brooke. But you

Brooke: know what's so interesting is before we went on stage, we had a booth with our stuff that we were giving away, and which we could talk about that another time, but it was all the theme of the giveaways all related to our All About That Case theme. We were also dressed in our costumes from the All About That Case video. So it was all very connected. But before we went on the stage, we were passing things out and people weren't really proactively coming up to talk to us. We were kind of trying to, you know, engage with them.

And it kind of was a challenge. Then after we did our presentation, I didn't have to initiate another conversation the rest of the evening. There was people continuously coming up to talk with me and so much so that when the night ended, we were the last people there, the last few people, because we just had to talk to all the people who wanted to talk to us. So that is, I, that is a win to me is if people appreciate your speech enough that they want to meet you and talk to you, then that's a win because that's what it's all about anyways. So next in the anatomy of a winning speech is what I call you wouldn't believe moments, but what Carmen Gallo, the author of the Ted Talk book calls it a jaw dropping moment.

She says, a successful presentation or speaker always provides the audience with at least one jaw dropping moment that makes the whole event stay in their minds.

Rachel: Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, wanted to give a presentation to many global leaders on malaria and how it might be controlled in Africa and Asia. He provided a spectacular moment when he pulled out a jar full of mosquitoes and then unleashed them in the conference room to make the presentation exciting. When Gates announced that the mosquitoes were malaria-free, the crowd was shocked and puzzled, yet comfortable. Gates' Mosquitoes moment was the most rememberable and talked about part of his TED address, which lasted 18 minutes. Several news sources and wealthy social media accounts centered their coverage on the event causing the story to spread quickly across the globe.

Brooke: So my jaw-dropping moment or all about that case moment what not all about that kid What am I saying? My you wouldn't believe moment or jaw dropping use whatever you want. Was the all about that case video again, it was a dance video, a music video. So it was not something probably anybody has seen from a law firm before. So that was the jaw-dropping moment.

But probably, you know, a little bit lesser of jaw-dropping moments were also the fact that we were wearing our clothing from the video. So that was definitely made us stand out. And then we had giveaways that were We had little autograph sheets with our pictures on them where we we signed them kind of like a singer would So that was another memorable giveaway that was consistent with the message we were sending. And then my closing, which I'll share in a minute, was another memorable moment. So think about creating at least one jaw dropping moment in your speech that will get people talking.

Find your mosquitoes moment.

Rachel: Do you want to deliver something unique and emotionally intense to make it a memorable experience? You should also try to finish your presentation at a high note rather than letting your pace just sink. I see this a lot with speakers where you know they'll get to you know their main topic their peak and then it just kind of fizzles out from there. You want to make sure that you leave on a high note as well. So they feel excited and refreshed and ready to do business with you.

Make sure

Brooke: you have one insight they've never heard before. We do this every week when we create a podcast, we say to ourselves, what is that one thing that our listeners have never heard before? We want to be delivering value to you every week so that you have at least one takeaway that you can say I learned. And one of the reasons for that is because dopamine, the chemical in your brain that makes you feel happy is ignited when you learn something new. When you acquire new knowledge, your brain experiences a dopamine response.

So if you are teaching them something new in this entertaining type of way or captivating type of way, then that dopamine release will allow them to number one, remember it in a positive light and number two, remember it at all. They will remember you.

Rachel: Yeah. I mean, also you should try To from from just a selfless perspective. You should want to add value to their lives You know when we're doing our miss biz podcast, you know We hear so many other podcasts where they're like, oh make great content, but they don't tell you how to make great content. You'll listen to the whole flippin' episode and still not know what you're doing. And it's the same stuff you've heard before.

So that's why we take the extra time to show you how to do it or explain and give examples because we genuinely want to help you. And that's what you want to do with your audience. You genuinely want to do something that's going to add value to your lives because nine times out of 10, Even if you can't send somebody else business, there's things that you can do to add value to their life through knowledge.

Brooke: 100%. So finally, in the anatomy of a speech is the closing. And just like the opening, you want to use the closing to make another impact. Don't say thank you for being here. Don't say I appreciate so much this opportunity.

Don't say that your last sentence needs to leave them wanting more. So my closing in the five minute speech was so let's raise our glasses and you know what we're going to do. Sing with me. You know, we're all about that case, about that case, no trouble. And we did the same thing that I had mentioned in my unique identity story, but applied it to this event.

And we sang together the all about that case chorus. And that was hopefully a memorable ending. And as soon as we finished that, I said thank you and I left the stage.

Rachel: And it was amazing because I was listening and I was like completely shocked that she was up there singing, but it captivated everybody's attention because it's not something that's normal. And everybody sang with her. And it was just a beautiful bonding moment. So even if you can't necessarily sing, let's say you're not a good singer, do something else to get them involved and to leave them feeling good.

Brooke: Yeah, they could they could you could be a saying a quote or something and It doesn't always have to be even something where they're saying something out loud. There's all kinds of different closings I've done before. You can listen to other speakers as well to hear how they close out, but it just needs to be something where they are left wanting more. Just not the thank you so much for having me like that's that's missing an opportunity again to leave on a high note.

Rachel: You want to find that mic drop moment.

Brooke: Yes,

Rachel: not the mosquito moment because that can be kind of scary. Although maybe mosquitoes Okay, but you know that mic drop moment where you just leave the stage like feeling like you just you just owned it You just you did a great job and it's gonna leave everybody Excited to work with you excited to meet you and get to know you and learn from you So let's talk now about some of

Brooke: the technical components. Those are the components of what to put into the speech. But when it comes to actually sitting down and writing it, I wanted to give you some tips on doing that. So the first thing I do is sit down at the computer and just type out word for word what I want to say because I want to be able to see it in black and white. So I write it all down in sentence format.

Then I start reading it out loud to see how it sounds. And inevitably I'm gonna be making changes, putting this here, moving that there, saying, I need to tweak this sentence. It doesn't sound as good as it does when I read it in my head. So reading it out loud is going to give you an idea of how it's gonna sound to an audience. Then I go and remove, remove, remove anything that strays away from my central message.

Everything needs to be precisely targeted at your central message. Any rabbit trails, you've got to delete. You'll lose their attention. And so you've got to stay on point. So I remove anything that is superfluous or doesn't need to be stated or if it's duplicative.

I don't need to tell two stories. I can tell one story to drive my point home. Second story, I might lose them. So I remove anything that isn't essential and necessary. Then I revise it and continue rehearsing.

Then once I've rehearsed it So much that I've almost got it memorized, not completely memorized, but I know my stories, I know the flow pretty well. I take all the, I make a second document which is just bullet points. And those bullet points are just a couple of words to remind me what to do. So, for example, in my five-minute speech, I would say... Let's see, how did it start with the...

Is that the most stupid video you've ever seen? That would be the bullet point. Then the second bullet point would be Jesse Cole, Savannah Bananas. Then the second third bullet point would be whatever. At the end, it would say, raise your glasses, you know, just a quick phrase so that if I lose my spot And my mind goes blank and I don't know what's next.

I can look down and remember this is what is next. You cannot go on the stage with full sentences written out. You cannot read a speech. People don't want to be read to. They want to hear from you from your heart.

They don't want to be read to. So, and I can tell you that if you have sentences and you think I'm just gonna look at them to find my spot, you can't, you can't quickly look down and find your spot in full sentence format. So you've gotta do these bullet points, but I don't do them till the very end when I've got the flow of the speech and I like the flow of the speech, then I do the bullet points last, and then I rehearse a bunch of times with just the bullet points.

Rachel: Most people cannot read and convey the message as if they're talking. A very small percentage of people can, but the majority of people can't. And it ends up sounding very boring, very robotic, and it's not connecting with the audience, whereas if you already know what you're gonna say, you're confident about it, you're able to really reach heart-to-heart with them and connect in a way that can't be done if you're just simply reading the speech. I think what also helped me, especially if you're new to giving presentations and speaking, is recording myself and not just recording audio, but video recording and video recording your entire body because I know for me I felt like an awkward turtle when I would get on stage and I was like I don't know what to do with my hands, I don't know what to do with my eyes, I feel like I'm just staring at one person, you know. So when you're able to record yourself and see yourself on video, not only can you pay more attention to your body language and how you're interacting, but you can also figure out like your tone of voice and your influx and maybe certain things you thought in your head you were emphasizing they don't come out that way so maybe you have to practice exaggerating that a little bit so I find recording myself to be very helpful.

Brooke: That is a great pointer and it reminded me of something that I didn't realize that I was doing, but I learned about it in kind of an embarrassing way. When I was in court, I would, and I do this all the time anyways I kind of sway from foot to foot back and forth from my right foot to my left foot and it's because I don't know I guess I'm wearing heels in court and so your feet are kind of uncomfortable So I would just shift my weight from foot to foot and kind of sway back and forth. I didn't realize I was doing it. And one time a witness who was on the witness stand said something to the effect of yes, the attorney over there who's swaying back and forth and and and I was like oh shoot other people realize it I've got to stop doing this and if I had video recorded myself my full body like you Suggested I would have recognized that I was doing that and I would have been more aware of it to try to stop doing

Rachel: it Absolutely. So use today's technology to your advantage We have all kinds of different resources that we can use also I find that kids are pretty good reliable source for telling you the truth about something. Usually they're brutally honest, so you know that is another good way to practice is actually practice in front of people and see like how it feels to get them involved and if they get involved and if not then try different techniques to make it more effective.

Brooke: Especially with humor parts you can test those out in just everyday conversation to see if people laugh or not. Cause that's sometimes in your mind, you think it's going to be hilarious. And then all of a sudden on stage, nobody laughs and you're like, Oh snap, that didn't work out. So the humor moments are really effective to try out on other people. So you know if they actually find it funny.

But the next thing is the amount of time that your speech lasts. You want it to be as short as it can, like as short as you can get your points in. That's as short as you want to be. Even Ted Talks, which are some of the most well-known talks that people give, are limited to 18 minutes. Regardless of whether it's given by Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or some other famous person, this is a guideline that you should observe.

If it's good enough for Ted, then it's good enough for us, right? 18 minutes is enough time. Now, if you are at a convention or something where they say you've got an hour long presentation, then maybe break it up some ways, bring some people on stage and do an interactive activity, play a video, do different things. Because someone told me our attention span is like eight seconds. So even at 18 minutes, if you can captivate them for that much time, that is exceptional, but an hour or even 30 minutes without some type of interaction or breaking it up in some way, you're probably gonna start to lose your audience.

Rachel: So as a speaker, there are only three styles of talks you must avoid at all cost. These styles are downright ugly and they're very dangerous both to your reputation and your audience's well-being. And here they are. The first one, that's the sales pitch. So according to Chris Anderson, it is a speaker's responsibility to give to the audience.

Sometimes most speakers get it completely wrong. They try to take from their audience. Remember, reputation is everything. You really don't want to come across as a tedious self-promoter. Nobody comes to a conference to be sold to, make sure that you're building your reputation as a generous speaker impacting the lives of your audience with something wondrous.

Brooke: Yes and the quote from Chris Anderson is the speaker's job is to give to the audience not take from them. The second type of talk you want to avoid at all costs is the ramble. Oh boy, I hear this one all the time. The ramble is the, You know it, we've all been there. The person who's just talking and talking, they're not on topic, they are not engaging, and they're just telling you something that is just not engaging and not something that you can latch onto, pay attention to, or even get value from because you're just bored.

And so the moment you stray from the point, excuse me, the moment you stray from the essential point of your speech and start rambling, you will lose your audience's attention.

Rachel: Absolutely. Then there's the org bore. Most people assume that all they have to do is to give a great talk is to simply outline their work or describe their organization or explore an issue. Some examples might be like, we're bolts legal and we handle personal injury law and this is how we do it and this is what we do and this is what caused it to happen. That's not a good idea.

Such talk will not likely end up being focused upon and will have very little impact. So don't frame your talk around the extraordinary history of your company or the NGO, or the laboratory and its complex yet effective structure, and the fabulous and astonishing talenting team that you're working with, and how much success your products are having. Don't do that. All of these things might sound interesting to you and the folks on your team, but guess what? Your listeners don't work at your company and hence they don't find such details to be very amusing, not even a bit.

Instead of going on and on about your company and its product, focus on the nature of your work and the power of the ideas that inspire you.

Brooke: One question that I've been asked before is, should I use slides? In other words, a PowerPoint presentation or slides in the speech. I think that using slides is a good idea in a limited way. Because the human brain does not pay attention to dull things, and our attention span is only eight seconds, you should try to appeal to more than one of the five senses. And using slides can do that because it's a visual representation of what you're talking about.

But only if used correctly. You should not put on the screen an outline of what you're talking about unless you're in a setting where you're teaching. If you're teaching a course and you're wanting people to take notes on everything that you're teaching, then yes, you can have an outline on the screen. But if you're giving a speech for impact purposes, you don't want to have an outline on the screen. You don't really want to have words on the screen much at all.

The only slides that I use are images that convey the message in a better way than words could. So if I'm talking about, I don't know, if I'm talking about the Savannah Bananas and Jesse Cole, and I would maybe put up a picture of the Savannah Bananas doing something really extreme as an example so that they can see that this is the type of this is not your ordinary baseball team. So I put a picture of the Savannah bananas. I would not write on the screen. Jesse Cole is the owner of the Savannah bananas.

There's a huge difference there. So using an image that is in line with your message but doesn't detract from it is the key to doing slides.

Rachel: It emphasizes what you're saying and the point that you're trying to make. And I agree with you where you say that, you know, it can be used against you in a sense, because I used to do presentations where I would have like even just pictures, like pictures of me and my kids or pictures of this and that and that. And I felt like people were like looking at the pictures more so than they were paying attention to what I was saying. So being able to figure out you know, what's the least amount of images or clips that I can play and what can I show briefly that will help drive in the point but not take away from what I'm trying to say?

Brooke: For every speaker, the following is true. Having no slides at all is better than bad slides. Agreed. Well, I'm excited to hear about all your speech giving successes. So check in with us.

We're at Miss Biz Podcast on social media. We have a Facebook group called Miss Biz Nation where you can come and share with us your feedback, your ideas, your questions. And then we have a weekly zoom call on Fridays at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time where we can be face-to-face together in a small group setting and share about our businesses and help each other to grow.

Rachel: And if you're on social media make sure that you check out our platforms we're at Miss Biz podcast on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. I think that's all of them. But make sure that you follow us and that you like our content because we do share some behind the scenes footage that's not aired on our show.

Brooke: If you're listening to us on a podcast platform, every one of our episodes is also on YouTube in a video format. And I don't know about you, but we talk with our hands, we make facial expressions, things like that. So if you have the time and want to check us out on YouTube, we'd love that. Also if you like our podcast and this will be the last thing I ask you to do. One of the best ways to help us grow is to write a review.

So if you wouldn't mind taking a moment just to write a review on our podcast, that really helps us to get the word out about our podcast.

Rachel: We appreciate you and are honored to be on this journey with you. We can't wait to help you, to encourage you, and show you how to

Brooke: grow personally, professionally, and spiritually. If you found Miss Biz helpful, please leave a review and share with others. You can follow us on social media at Miss Biz Podcast. For legal questions or services, please visit BoltzLegal.com.

Rachel: And for digital marketing needs, please visit boltsmedia.com. Let's get biz done.

Brooke: Thanks for watching. See you next time. Bye.