Florian Mueck - PlusPlus

Two weeks later I received a phone call:

Mr. Mueck, you have signed a petition here to help save the orangutan....

Now — what were the chances that I’d have just put the phone down? Normally, they’re about 99½%, like when a telephone solicitor calls me to sell me a better wireless connection.

But I couldn’t do that, because I’d already committed myself. That tiny little symbolic action of signing that petition had an amazing amount of persuasive power. It made me feel a sense of personal obligation.

Most of the speakers I’ve ever heard haven’t included a concrete call to action. There hasn’t been a “Point X” — which means that significant opportunities have been missed!

The first content-boosting action to take in the future is to write down these eight words, then to come up with a concrete action for your audience to take once they’ve listened to your speech or presentation.

It’s the very first step. Once you’ve defined your Point X, you’re ready to move on.

Boost your content even more by demanding a symbolic action from your audience.

Our company is a great adventure.

A speech that starts with such a metaphorical theme can only be good. It’s always great to use a theme throughout your speech. Good themes are those that everyone in the audience can easily relate to: a journey, a rollercoaster ride, marriage, a building, a thunderstorm, the gym, football, a marathon.

A metaphorical theme is more memorable than an abstract concept. Staying with the example above — what makes an adventure an adventure?

In an adventure you have heroes: the sales guys in the company, the management, the IT team.

In an adventure you encounter obstacles: competition, regulation, recession.

In an adventure you take risks: a new product launch, a new market entry, a joint venture.

Your audience will appreciate such a theme. They can identify with it; they can visualize it; they can feel it.

Make sure you don’t mix themes in a speech. Mixed metaphors are too confusing for your audience. Stick to one theme.

Boost your content even more by using a single metaphorical theme throughout your speech.

Imagine you’re sitting in an audience listening to a speech. Why would it be important for you that the speech have a good structure?

Now — imagine you are giving a speech in front of an audience. Why would it be important for you as a speaker to have a good structure?

Good structure is crucial for both the speaker and the audience. The speaker wants to stay on track, avoid forgetting important parts, keep the logical flow moving. The listener wants to follow the speaker’s points — and the easier that is, the better.

Good structure boosts the quality of your content.

A simple and powerful model for structuring your speeches is the Speech Structure Building™ model, as I explained in The Seven Minute Star .

The Speech Structure Building™ is a model of a Greek temple: it has a foundation (the speech’s opening), three pillars (the body: points A, B, C), and a rooftop (the closing). What makes this model special is the “drainpipe” which connects the roof with the foundation.

Example: a speech about “The future of Europe”

It was the best year of my life. One year of freedom, one year of friendship, one year of Europe - it was my Erasmus exchange year in Barcelona, 1997-98. Ever since then, I’ve been a passionate European, and I’ll give you three powerful reasons why Europe has a great future ahead.

First, our infrastructure. Look at the ports of Rotterdam, Hamburg, Barcelona. Look at the airports of Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid. Look at the highways in Poland or Hungary. We have top-notch infrastructure in Europe - a prerequisite for successful global business operations.

Second, our culture. Europe is a superbly attractive place to work and live for global-quality people. Our art, our cuisine, our fashion, our films, our music, our sports — Europe offers culture and lifestyle at its best.

The third, and from my perspective the most powerful reason for a bright European future, is our political system. It’s a system based on freedom, equal rights, and democracy. This is the system I want for my son Álvaro, when he grows up. This system guarantees stability and growth for the coming generations.

Today I’m back in Barcelona, a convinced European, back in the city of my Erasmus year. I’ve lived my personal European dream for the last decade; I live my European dream today, and I’ll live it tomorrow as well. Europe is our future.

Opening — A - B - C — closing, with a connection back to the opening. Leonardo Da Vinci said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication; follow his advice, and let your public speeches follow this simple structure. Be sophisticated and use the Greek temple: foundation, three pillars, roof, and the drainpipe.

Boost your content even more by using the Speech Structure Building™.

In my seminars I usually ask a female participant about the amount of time she would grant to a guy who’s obviously launching a flirtation attack. Most times — after the laughter, the red cheeks, and the jokes have died down — she’ll say that she’d give a guy about 30 seconds.

If you are a male reader — well, I don’t know about your experience, but mine doesn’t even come close to 30 seconds.

Hello, my name is Flor... — Oh — well — ok — bye!

I don’t even have time to get out my whole name. I’ve never experienced anything else but an average of 1.3 to 1.7 seconds.

For me, the same thing applies to public speaking. When you speak in public, when you present your product, when you give a eulogy, when you make a pitch for funding for your start-up company, when you give a best man’s speech — always think about how you have 1.3 to 1.7 seconds to capture the attention of your audience.

With this in mind, here are five ways to start your next speech or presentation:

QUOTATION

A quotation from an admired personality is a safe way to start a speech.

I recommend quotations that express the central, key message of your speech. Imagine a speech to a group of employees: perseverance might be the key to your message. Use Google, search for “quotation” and “perseverance”, and you’ll find a vast variety of useful quotations.

You could start a speech by saying,

Albert Einstein once said...

Pause! Let them picture the guy with the crazy white hair-do.

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer." — I want us to stay with our problems longer than any competitor, I want us to stay with our problems longer than any analyst expects from us, I want us to stay with our problems longer than any solution would ever require.

A neat side effect of starting with a quotation is that it awards you borrowed credibility and intellect right from the start.

POLEMIC

Our sector will drown...

This is a miserable situation...

Starting your speech with a polemic has an immediate impact, and will grab an audience’s attention. I call it the WHAT? effect.

Hello, my name is Florian... — That lady in the back thinks, Yeah, whatever!

Our sector will drown... — Your audience thinks, WHAT?

Polemic openings are great; however, it’s important to make sure you resolve them in a positive way — but only after a long, dramatic pause.

Our sector will drown... Pause! ... in a sea of success!