Come Out with a Bang

Howdomostspeakersopentheirspeeches?Whataresomeofthefirstthings youusuallyhearthemsay?Well,averagespeakerssaythingslike,Imsogladto behereonthiswonderfuloccasion,orIwanttothankthepeoplewhobrought mein,orItssuchagreatdaytobehere. Doyouknowwhattheiraudiencesarethinkingatthatpoint?So,what!Who cares?Thisisgoingtobeaverageatbest.AndtheseareallwhatIcallunpleasant pleasantries.Theyredefinitelynotthewayyouwanttostartapresentation. IlikewhatmyfriendandfellowWorldChampion,DarrenLaCroixsays,Look,we dontneedaweatherreport.Mostofuswerejustoutside.Sowehaveto understandthatwithinthefirst30secondsouraudiencewillrealizewhetheror nottheywanttohearmore. Theabsolutelyfirstthingyousayiscritical.Itcanbreaktheiceoritcanputyour audienceonice.Youchoose.Herestherealkeytoastrongfirst30seconds.Do somethingunexpected,butnotuncalledfor. WhatImeanisyoudontwanttodosomethingthatsjustcompletelybananas, justinthenameofbeingunexpected.Instead,youjustwanttomakesureyou comeoutwithabang.Thatmeansyoumustremovetheseunpleasant pleasantries.Byfar,thethreebestwaystostartaspeecharethefollowing: 1) Astory. 2) Aquestion. 3) Acuriousstatement.

Letsstartwithastory,numberone.SometimesIllapproachthestageand,after theyfinishapplauding,theveryfirstthingIsayis,WhenIwasinprison,visiting, aninmatecameupaftermypresentation,andboom,stoprightthere.Ijump rightintomystory. Ithookspeoplefromtheverybeginning,whichiswhyastoryistheabsolutebest waytostart.Itworks,becausewhatdoestheaudiencereallyexpect?Theyexpect unpleasantpleasantries,likeeveryotherspeakergives.Sowhenyoudiveright intoyourstorytheythink,Well,thisshouldbedifferent. Anotherwaytoopeniswithapowerfulquestion.Forexample,listentothis30 secondliveexampleofhowIopenedoneofmypresentations: ========== Whatdoyouthinkisthenumberonethingthatstandsinthewayofmostpeople becominggreatatanything?Themselves?Okay,whatelse?Fear?Whatelse? Practice. ========== NowifImspeakingtoentrepreneurs,Imightsay,Whatdoyouthinkisthe numberonethingthatstandsbetweenmostentrepreneursgettingmore customers?Eitherway,startingwithaquestionimmediatelytakesyour audiencefrombeingpassivespectatorstobeingactiveparticipants.Itsetsthe flavorforhowtheyllbeduringtheentirespeech,becausetheyregoingtothink, Well,IguessIllbeinvolvedduringthispresentation. Theotherbestwaytobeginisbymakingacuriousstatement.Solistentothisone liveexampleofhowIstartedoneofmyspeecheswithastatementthatmademy audiencecurious.

========== Iknowitsoundsstrange,butfirstofallIwanttothankyouformynametag.It mightnotmeanmuchtoyou,butwhenIwasinVancouverIdontknowhowbig theythoughtIwas,buttheygavemeanametagthathungdownhere.[audience laughing] Now,Idontcarehowconfidentofanindividualyouthoughtyouwere,youre goingtobesomewhatselfconsciousifallweekendlongpeoplecomeuptoyou andsay,Hey,Craig,howyoudoing?[audiencelaughing] ========== Welcomeback.NowIshouldadmit,thereisanothergreatwaytoopenaspeech anditscalledtheCallBack.However,youregoingtopickthatupindifferent speakingtip,becausecallbackscanbeusedalloverthepresentation. Oh,andonelastthing,youmightask,Well,Craig,Istillthinkitsappropriateto thankthepeoplewhobroughtmeinandmaybesayafewnicewordsaboutthem andabouttheoccasion. Myresponseis,Great,doit.Justdontdoitwithinthefirst30seconds. Instead,youwanttousewhatIcallthesitcomapproach.Whenyouwatcha sitcomshowtoday,howdotheynormallyopen?Usuallytheybeginwithafunny scenethatsetsthepremisefortheshow.Thenandonlythendotheycuttothe openingcreditsandthethemesong,whichistheequivalentofthankingthe audience.

Inotherwords,theyhookyouinfirst,thentheycoverthoseothernecessities.If youdothesame,youllcomeoutwithabangandyoullhaveyouraudience enthralledfromtheverybeginning. Sothatsthetipforthisweek.Untilnextweek,keepspeakingup.

Craigs Top 10 Recommended Resources

1. http://www.edgeoftheirseats.com/ 2. http://www.createyourkeynote.com/ 3. http://www.dynamicdeliverydevices.com/ 4. http://www.learntoownthestage.com/ 5. http://www.wcspeaking.com/ 6. http://www.askcraigvalentine.com/ 7. http://www.audioforspeakers.com 8. http://www.resourcesforspeakers.com 9. http://www.thebookonspeaking.com 10. http://www.automateyourspeaking.com

Craig Valentines Background & Results

CraigValentine,MBA,anawardwinningspeaker,managementtrainer,andspeechcoach,has traveledtheworldhelpingspeakersbreathelifeintotheirpresentations.Hehasspokeninthe UnitedStates,Taiwan,Canada,Jamaica,Qatar(Doha),England,Bahamas,HongKong,and China.In1999hewontheWorldChampionshipofPublicSpeakingforToastmasters Internationalaftercompetingwithmorethan25,000contestantsfrom14countries. Theconferencewasthispastweekendandwithyour"virtualcoaching"Iwasableto givemyown"KillerKeynote".IstoodonthatstageandgavethespeechIhadalways dreamedofgivingtheylaughedwhereIwantedthemtolaughtheytearedup whereIwantedtotouchthemthemosttheycameintothesceneofmystories theyheardmymessageandbelieved.ItwasawonderfulmomentformeandIwill alwaysconsideritagift.NowIwouldbelyingifIsaidIdidn'tenjoythestanding ovationattheend...SusanLambRobinson,Speaker;Toronto,Canada "Inowdeliverbetterpresentationsin20minutesthanIdidin60minutes;moreover, myclosingratiohasincreased350%thankstothelessonslearnedinTheEdgeofTheir SeatsStorytellingHomeStudyCourse.Craig's9StepFormulahaschangedmy

 life."KevinD.Gross,MBA,President,AlumniConnection.com www.AlumniConnection.com IlearnedmorefromyouinonehourthanIhaveinyearsofgivingspeeches.Youarea masterofyourgame.Thankyouforinspiringmetofindmyownvoiceandgreatness asaspeaker!!Thankyou!PeleRaymondUgboajah;Author,Speaker,BusinessCoach; DreamBanc,L.L.C. CraigValentineisoneofAmericasfinestspeakers,1999WorldChampionofPublic SpeakingandauthorofwhatIconsidertobethebibleofpublicspeaking,Nutsand BoltsofPublicSpeaking.HesalsogotseveralaudioandDVDsonthesubject.Craig wasthedrivingforceandthebiggestreasonImadeittotheWorldChampionships lastyearinCalgary.ThetwodaysIspentwithhim,inhislivingroom,inBaltimore, completelychangedthewayapproachpublicspeakingMartinPresse,2008Finalist forWorldChampionofPublicSpeaking HeymanIknowyouarebusybutIwantedtobringyouuptospeedonus.Wejust returnedfromSanFranciscowherewespokeatthenationalconventionofNAMI.It wasgreat.Nonotes,webothspokeforaboutanhour.Basedonallthecomments theylikedit.Therewereanumberofpeopletherewhohadheardusbeforeandthey wereamazedatthechangeswemade.Thanks!BillNeely;www.billandtena.com; CourageinCrisis Thankyou1000timesover.IjustcamehomefromNiagara,whatafantastictimeI had.Allofyourtechniquesworked.Ioffered7free,1hourconsultationsifbooked todayofferedonlyinJanuary.InotonlybookedthoseIhadalineupafterward. SarahHilton;SpeakeronMentalHealth,Toronto Thanksforyourchanges...IgavethespeechlastMondayandeveryoneravedaboutit. Thankyousomuchforyourhelp.Iwentinveryconfident,knowingitwasaverygood speechthankstoyouradviceandchanges.Infact,theyhopetogetmebackagainand severalsaidtheywanttofindoutwhereelseIamspeakingsotheycancomehearme again.ChristineDuvivier;ManagingDirector,ImpactPartners