Speakers

Thomas Murrell

Every speech has an audience and every audience is different. Tailoring your next speech to its audience is as important as the content in the speech. So how do you connect with an audience so your message matches their expectations, wants and needs and you get your message across effectively.

Here are the Seven Strategies to Target Your Business Presentation Message With Laser-Like Precision

1. Research your audience prior to the presentation.

The more you know about your audience the more likely you are able to connect with them. I’m often blown away by the number of business people who just don’t bother to find out anything about their audience. The more specific you can be the better. For example one of the best briefs I received from a client was the following description of the audience:

“The majority of the group are on a two days, two nights, four off roster. These are largely process technicians. The remainder are on a five-days-on two-days-off roster. Day shift people include tradespeople (we call them maintenance technicians) and lab, administration and professional employees. Average tenure across the group is eight years ranging up to over 30 years. Average age across the group is 38 years. Gender Split: Females 6 per cent, Males 94 per cent”

What a great start and fantastic research statistics on the audience. From this I could work out nearly half the audience hadn’t been with the company very long, they were predominantly a younger audience and mostly male! This provided a strong foundation to tailor my message to connect with this group. Please note this was an exceptionally good briefing from the client and most of the time you will have to do the legwork to find out who your audience is!

2. Find Out What Your Audience Want.

Again ask key questions of the event organiser such as ‘What are the key issues impacting on your industry, business or members?’ I always try and meet as many of the audience as possible prior to a presentation as ask “what’s on your mind at the moment and what do you want to get out of this presentation?” Be specific.

Here’s an example I used for a recent presentation for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. I discovered most potential investors will want to know 3 things when trying to raise finds. What are the sales projections? Who are your target customers? What is the exit strategy? Provide this and you’ve won them over.

3. Use Examples.

Nothing builds empathy and rapport with your audience as powerfully as examples. Remember you are selling intangible ideas and practical examples make these ideas more memorable, believable and tangible.

4. Use Vignettes.

No, this is not a type of dressing you put on your salad! It is a short story, example or incident. The key point is they are easy to remember and tell. But they must be short and relevant.

5. Use Metaphors.

These are powerful words that conjure up vivid images in the minds of your audience. They are a proven speechwriting technique. I recently heard former US President Bill Clinton speak. Clinton used the metaphor of the gap between the invention of the club and the shield to describe the present situation in the war against terrorism. He said, “this gap needs to closed”. This makes intangible concepts have more impact with an audience.

6. Be Specific.

The more specific you can be with actual examples, case studies, and results the more laser-like your precision will be in targeting your message. Know your content and don’t be afraid to reveal personal stories as examples in your speech, this will strengthen your relationship with your audience.

7. Use the Incident/Point/Benefit Technique.

This one is really powerful. Tell the story, make the point and then importantly, reinforce how this will benefit the audience. It took me years to work this one out but it will make a big difference to the impact of your presentations.

Thomas Murrell

Imagine you are an elite athlete, at the peak of your fitness and paid a quarter of a million dollars a year by the top premiership-winning team.

You have played the game of your career against your hometown rival in one of the biggest matches of the year.

You’re exhausted, elated and asked to come to the podium to accept the medal for best player in the match.

With a live, nationwide television audience watching, including hundreds of thousands of children to whom you are a role model and hero … you utter the following words in your acceptance speech …”let’s have a f…ing good year”.

This was midfielder Michael Braun from the West Coast Eagles who was fined 5,000 dollars for swearing in public after being awarded the Ross Glendinning Medal after the western derby in Perth recently.

This one remark uttered in the adrenalin rush of sport has done irreversible damage to the brand and reputation of both the West Coast Eagles Football Club and the Australian Football League (AFL).

This is why the AFL Commission met with the Eagles to deal with issues relating to off-field player behaviour.

The Eagles have been put on notice that if they appear before the Commission again they will be subject to the full force of the 1.6 rule of conduct unbecoming which can lead to a fine, suspension, loss of draft picks or premiership points.

So what is the point of sharing this story with you, especially if you have no idea what AFL is, who the Eagles are and who Michael Braun is?

Well, it demonstrates the importance of choosing your words carefully when giving a speech.

It reminded me of the golden rules of microphone technique.

Here are ten tips on microphone technique to maximise your message, and not ruin your reputation, when giving a speech.

1. Never Swear In Front Of A Microphone

I learnt this golden rule whilst a broadcaster at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Never ever swear in front of a microphone because you never know when it is on!

This mistake can cost you money, such as $5,000 but your personal or professional reputation is priceless.

Remember you can never take it back so it is better to be disciplined in the first place.

2. Use A Microphone If More Than 30 People

The human voice is a delicate instrument.

Treat it with respect. Do not strain it because you can do long term and irreversible damage.

Always ask for and use a microphone if there are more than 30 people in the audience.

Explain to the organisers what type of microphone you want well before you speak.

I usually have a set of AV requirements that I send to a conference organiser at least six weeks before I present. This includes my preferred type of microphone, lighting and how I want the stage set up.

3. Work Out The Best Microphone For The Situation – Impact, Peace of Mind and Hassle Free

A podium microphone is going to give you maximum impact for a Presidential style presentation where you use the podium as an anchor point.

The benefits of using a podium microphone are peace of mind and a hassle free speech because you can set and forget.

4. Work Out The Best Microphone For The Situation – Impact, Freedom and Mobility

A lapel microphone is very small and uses a clip to attach to clothing of the presenter.

If you want to move around and away from the podium it takes the place of a more static-position microphone.

The lapel microphone is plugged into a console which is attached to your belt and can amplify your voice without you having to hold onto it.

They are often wireless and linked back to the main PA system.

This is my preferred style of microphone.

As you get more experienced you learn to ignore the microphone and even use the tilt and angle of your head to vary your volume, tone and timbre into the microphone.

One trap for people. If you are using a lapel microphone, make sure you have turned it off before you go to the toilet.

I’ve heard of speakers relieving themselves only to find out the whole audience heard everything because their lapel microphone was still on and broadcasting to the whole auditorium!

The headset microphone is a variation but I’ve found headsets a little cumbersome and intrusive to work with.

5. Work Out The Best Microphone For The Situation – Impact, Impact and Impact

There is no doubt a hand held microphone gives you the greatest vocal range and control.

This is why it is so popular with entertainers and performers.

As a professional public speaker I find I like to use all my body for kinaesthetic speaking and find holding a hand-held microphone gets in the way of my body movement.

6. Be Familiar With The “On and Off” Switch

Even seasoned professionals can get caught out and it reflects badly on you as a presenter.

Spend time becoming familiar with the on and off switch. I’ve lost count the number of times a speaker looks unprofessional when on stage they say “how do you turn this thing on” or some variation.

7. Watch For Feedback

Feedback is really annoying for the audience.

Walk around the stage and room checking for feedback spots and adjust accordingly.

8. Use The Clenched Fist Rule

Again, I learnt this at the ABC with legendary broadcaster and speech coach Arch McKirdy.

He taught me the best way to position the microphone in relation to your mouth and lips is to make a clenched fist and this is the optimal distance the microphone should be from your mouth.

9. Speak Directly Into The Microphone

Broadcasters hate to be “off mike” because the sound quality is poor.

Always speak directly into a microphone. Use a windsock if external noise or to avoid popping with the letter “p”.

10. Always Do A Sound Check

Do a sound check before you present.

Check the whole stage for feedback spots.

Treat the professional sound crew with respect, introduce yourself and explain clearly what you want to do and rehearse especially for a complex presentation.

Thank them afterwards. Once you are ready to go on turn the microphone on.

Thomas Murrell

What are the secrets of being a great MC?

Being asked to MC an event can happen anytime. At a social setting, at work or for more formal occasions.

Because of my business as a professional speaker, I’m often called on to be a professional MC.

Take for example my recent experiences hosting the Real Estate Institute of WA’s (REIWA) formal annual dinner, and the presentation of the Kevin Sullivan memorial Award, the Institute’s highest accolade.

A professional MC can make or break an event.

What do people remember?

It’s not the children’s choir, the corporate video or the music. It’s not even the venue or the food.

The secret to a great event is the person who brings all of these diverse elements together and then delivers them with personality, humour and charm.

Your choice of Master of Ceremonies will have a big impact on the success of your event.

And the fact is, high profile does not equal success. I’ve heard famous name MCs tell inappropriate jokes and get guests, organisers and sponsors immediately offside.

The MC (also known as Emcee) has a very unique role to play at an event. There are many duties to perform and not everyone can be organised and entertaining at the same time. It’s a special skill.

But the good thing is, it is a learned skill.

Here is the first part of a series of articles on what I call the multiple speaking intelligences every aspiring or experienced leader needs.

In this first part, here are 10 Tips on how to be a great MC for every occasion.

1. Get A Good Briefing

Clarify with the event organiser beforehand what their expectations are and what they want exactly.

2. Work To A Running Sheet

There is a lot to remember and do as an MC. Make sure your event organiser provides a running sheet so you know what happens and when.

3. Run On Time

The major role of a good MC is to keep the event running on time. It is your role to make this happen. No one likes an event that runs over time.

You need to be firm on time. This is one element that is non-negotiable.

4. Be The Glue That Holds The Event Together

Your role as MC is to be the glue or cement that holds the event together.

You have to link, segue and make a transition directly from one section or theme to another during the entire event.

The best MCs do this seemlessly and effortlessly.

5. Focus On The Speakers and Performers

Remember the speakers or performers you are introducing are the stars of the show not the MC.

Don’t grandstand, big note or let your ego get in the way.

Let the event elements, be they speakers, performers or award winners shine.

6. Rehearse

Spend time at the venue before hand getting used to the stage, lighting and sound system.

Practice your lines out loud. Warm up your voice. Get in the moment.

7. Research

Research the speakers or performers you are introducing.

As an absolute minimum do a Google search on them. Always request a formal introduction from speakers.

Most professional speakers will provide a prepared introduction.

8. Provide a Mix of Entertainment and Information

The key to a good MC is light and shade.

9. Let Your Personality Come Through and Be Yourself

Don’t be overly wooden or scripted. Let your personality shine through.

10. Have Fun

If you are having fun so are the others speakers and the audience.

Relax and enjoy the moment.

Thomas Murrell

The keynote is one of the most important presentations an aspiring or experienced leader can give.

A keynote is between 20 and 90 minutes in duration but it may also be shorter. For example, a school principal giving an address at a school assembly may only speak for three to five minutes and I would consider this a keynote. A pastor or a priest giving a weekly Sunday morning sermon would also be considered a keynote.

So keynotes are really important for visibility and credibility.

Many people from a lecturing, training or teaching background deliver a keynote as though they are giving a training or teaching session.

This application is seriously flawed because the message and methodology does not match the modality.

Keynotes are one of the nine multiple speaking intelligences every leader needs to have.

The other eight speaking intelligences are after-dinner, acceptance, thankyou, panellist, training, chair, MC and facilitator.

I differentiate between these nine different intelligences by using 13 criteria.

So what are the 13 criteria which can be used to plan, research and deliver a knockout keynote?

Use these 13 criteria to design and deliver your next outstanding keynote presentation:

1. Starting Point

The starting point for a keynote speech is the structure. Audiences crave structure and a clear structure is the most important element of a great keynote and a critical starting point.

2. Focus

As a keynote, the delivery of your presentation should be the main focus for your personal energy.

3. Means

How should you best plan and structure a keynote? You should always come back to the key question: what is the one big idea that will change lives?

Don’t get caught in the content trap by having too much content. Always be aware of message overload.

4. Style

You must fully engage your audience at an emotive level to really get people to listen.

5. Interaction

Audience interaction in a keynote speech will maximise the impact of your message and keeps the audience interested.

It helps overcome rapid thinking and preoccupation. It could be as simple as posing a rhetorical question.

6. Preparation

In a keynote, you are the expert on the topic you are speaking on, so it is important you have done a high degree of preparation and research.

7. Entertainment

If you want your keynote to be memorable, you must make sure it has high entertainment value. This is achievable with virtually any subject.

8. Content and Expertise

To ensure your message is understood by all, key messages should be universal and endearing in their nature.

9. Scripting

Just as preparation for a keynote speech should be high, so too should the scripting of the speech.

Every word should be carefully crafted and scripted.

10. Rehearsal

High levels of rehearsing are required to avoid looking unprepared or lacking knowledge on the topic you are presenting. Remember as a keynote speaker, you are the expert and you need to know your content really, really well.

Most presenters don’t know their content well enough, are ill-prepared and do not rehearse on stage and therefore rely on PowerPoint slides as speech notes.

This is a big mistake and leads to the dreaded disease Death by PowerPoint.

11. Narrative

Keynotes are often high in their use of narrative. Doing this helps the audience relate to what you are saying. You must contain personal stories to connect at an emotional level.

It is the personal stories and not the facts that most people remember with a keynote.

12. Ends

An attitude shift is your ultimate goal when presenting a keynote speech. By presenting your view on the topic, you want to achieve a shift in the audience’s attitude.

It is not about skills transfer which is suited to training.

13. Summary Questions

In reviewing your keynote speech, you should ask: ‘what difference did it make?’ Did you achieve your goal of evoking an attitudinal shift in the audience?

Thomas Murrell

Have you ever been asked do deliver an after dinner speech?

I want you to imagine, a room full of 200 University track and field athletes from all over Australia.

It is May 15th 1989 at 9.05 pm at the South Perth Civic Centre.

The Vice-Chancellor and his wife are seated on the head table.

Copious amounts of alcohol are being consumed by the athletes after three hard-days of competition which has now finished.

The only events remaining are unofficial ones, the skulling races and the nude 400 metres!

I rise to speak as the after dinner speaker, having been a three-time Australian University Games Champion, and small ‘c’ media celebrity.

Throughout the speech, I’m continually challenged to skull beer, together with the Vice-Chancellor.

The audience was well lubricated, riotous, wild and out of control.

I don’t think they remembered a word of my speech, but it was certainly a memorable evening and despite an invitation, I declined to make a comeback and race in the nude 400 metres afterwards.

The point of this story is that an after dinner speech is one of the most difficult presentations to give.

The duration often lasts from eight to twenty five minutes.

If alcohol is being served, a key rule is to never speak for more than fourteen minutes, because what do people want to do at a dinner or even a sundowner where alcohol is being served?

They want to network, they want to get to know other people, meet other people and perhaps even flirt a little bit.

There are eight other multiple speaking intelligences; key note, acceptance speech, thank you speech, panellist, training, chair person, MC and facilitation.

Whatever you do, never try to train, teach or facilitate in an after dinner speech.

Many confident speakers fail badly because they get both the context and content wrong.

If you ever have to give an after dinner speech, here are thirteen different criteria to help you structure such a speech:

1. Starting Point

As after dinner speeches are given in a relaxed setting, planning is best done by choosing appropriate personal stories that contain humour or war stories, stories that the audience can relate to and keep the mood light-hearted.

2. Focus

Light and Sweet should always be the focus of an after dinner speech, in line with the occasion.

3. Means

While you may have been chosen because of your knowledge on the topic at hand, ensure you keep your speech witty and charming.

4. Style

The style must be complementary to the dinner theme drawing attention to the reason people are there.

5. Interaction

Depending on the type of function at which you are speaking, interaction should be kept low to medium, after all, you are the one who has been chosen to speak.

6. Preparation

Although you may not feel it is necessary to prepare for an after dinner speech, high preparation will help you keep in line with the theme of the evening.

Remember it is an honour to speak and this carries great responsibility.

Do not try and wing it!

7. Entertainment

After dinner speeches should be very entertaining, remember light and sweet.

8. Content and Expertise

While you might have been chosen because you have some relationship to the topic, eg. Father of the bride at your daughters wedding, you are not expected to be giving an academic speech, so content and expertise remains relatively low.

9. Scripting

As with preparation, scripting should be high. Make every word count. Cut out unnecessary words.

10. Rehearsal

A high degree of rehearsing will make the world of difference when you have to get up in front of an audience.

Always do a sound check and get comfortable with the stage and lighting prior to your speech.

11. Narrative

As stories often feature in after dinner speeches, the narrative aspect is high. Make sure people can relate to your stories by relating them to the theme of the evening.

12. Ends

The aim of an after dinner speech is usually to celebrate the occasion. Build in this call to action. For example, if appropriate you could get everyone to charge their glass in lieu of the situation.

13. Summary Questions

Your primary task is to entertain, ask yourself as a summary and review question, ‘did they laugh?’

Thomas Murrell

Have you ever been asked do deliver an after dinner speech?

I want you to imagine, a room full of 200 University track and field athletes from all over Australia.

It is May 15th 1989 at 9.05 pm at the South Perth Civic Centre.

The Vice-Chancellor and his wife are seated on the head table.

Copious amounts of alcohol are being consumed by the athletes after three hard-days of competition which has now finished.

The only events remaining are unofficial ones, the skulling races and the nude 400 metres!

I rise to speak as the after dinner speaker, having been a three-time Australian University Games Champion, and small ‘c’ media celebrity.

Throughout the speech, I’m continually challenged to skull beer, together with the Vice-Chancellor.

The audience was well lubricated, riotous, wild and out of control.

I don’t think they remembered a word of my speech, but it was certainly a memorable evening and despite an invitation, I declined to make a comeback and race in the nude 400 metres afterwards.

The point of this story is that an after dinner speech is one of the most difficult presentations to give.

The duration often lasts from eight to twenty five minutes.

If alcohol is being served, a key rule is to never speak for more than fourteen minutes, because what do people want to do at a dinner or even a sundowner where alcohol is being served?

They want to network, they want to get to know other people, meet other people and perhaps even flirt a little bit.

There are eight other multiple speaking intelligences; key note, acceptance speech, thank you speech, panellist, training, chair person, MC and facilitation.

Whatever you do, never try to train, teach or facilitate in an after dinner speech.

Many confident speakers fail badly because they get both the context and content wrong.

If you ever have to give an after dinner speech, here are thirteen different criteria to help you structure such a speech:

1. Starting Point

As after dinner speeches are given in a relaxed setting, planning is best done by choosing appropriate personal stories that contain humour or war stories, stories that the audience can relate to and keep the mood light-hearted.

2. Focus

Light and Sweet should always be the focus of an after dinner speech, in line with the occasion.

3. Means

While you may have been chosen because of your knowledge on the topic at hand, ensure you keep your speech witty and charming.

4. Style

The style must be complementary to the dinner theme drawing attention to the reason people are there.

5. Interaction

Depending on the type of function at which you are speaking, interaction should be kept low to medium, after all, you are the one who has been chosen to speak.

6. Preparation

Although you may not feel it is necessary to prepare for an after dinner speech, high preparation will help you keep in line with the theme of the evening.

Remember it is an honour to speak and this carries great responsibility.

Do not try and wing it!

7. Entertainment

After dinner speeches should be very entertaining, remember light and sweet.

8. Content and Expertise

While you might have been chosen because you have some relationship to the topic, eg. Father of the bride at your daughters wedding, you are not expected to be giving an academic speech, so content and expertise remains relatively low.

9. Scripting

As with preparation, scripting should be high. Make every word count. Cut out unnecessary words.

10. Rehearsal

A high degree of rehearsing will make the world of difference when you have to get up in front of an audience.

Always do a sound check and get comfortable with the stage and lighting prior to your speech.

11. Narrative

As stories often feature in after dinner speeches, the narrative aspect is high. Make sure people can relate to your stories by relating them to the theme of the evening.

12. Ends

The aim of an after dinner speech is usually to celebrate the occasion. Build in this call to action. For example, if appropriate you could get everyone to charge their glass in lieu of the situation.

13. Summary Questions

Your primary task is to entertain, ask yourself as a summary and review question, ‘did they laugh?’