PUBLIC SPEAKINGMotivate Persuade

Influence

Public SpeakingIntroduction

The single most important skill that you can attain throughout your professional career is public speaking, also known as:

your influence factorPublic speaking gives you the opportunity to directly:

Motivate

Persuade

Influence

Any audience or group you address.

Project Yourself as a Leader

The way you project yourself as a leader (thought leader) will have a greater impact than anything else you do in determining your success as a Leader. 

Why? Effective Public Speakers Earn:Respect

CredibilityLeadership (command) 

People want to (yearn) follow dynamic, charismatic

and respected leaders because they are effective communicators.

 Recent Study: IBM cited public speaking skills as the #1 factor in determining criteria for promotion at the executive level.

Effective Public Speaker = Leader

As leaders you must want to thrive in being under the spot light. Being a very good speaker can cover up a lot of “blemishes” or “flaws” in you overall skill set.  

Which will buy you time to improve on weaknesses (opportunities).

Being a good speaker carries that much weight.

Definition of Effective Public Speaker:

What all great leaders have in common is

that they can “stand and deliver”

a captivating message that elicits emotion in the audience.

CommunicationQuestion: How much time do you spend on the single most important quality of a

leader – effective communication?

Answer: Probably NOT enough!

As Leaders: At Liberty National, we have opportunities all day/everyday both in and out of the branch to “hone our craft” in effective communication. We are always on stage! There is no on/off switch, nor should there be! 

Where are the Opportunities to Influence with communication?1. Field training “curb side conference” with agents/managers.2. In the home selling – When money is on the line.3. On the phone in the office (all ears are on you) – keep your door open!4. Agency meetings.5. Leadership meetings.6. Manager meetings.There are times when the spotlight gets brighter:7. Groups8. Leadership Academy – 101 thru 301 Seminars9. Branch Manager meetings10. Conventions

 

Keys to Communication You must prepare and practice your craft which

ultimately will become your influence factor. If not, your weakness will be exposed.

Present, speak, influence from a position of strength! Know your material, be genuine, passionate and informative and don’t forget to smile!

  Make it your culture to always be a role model in the

way you communicate in and out of the office.

 

Become a Dynamic LeaderValues, standards, work ethic are the ideals that make up your culture as you communicate them daily. As an Leader, you are in prime position to captivate your audience (branch and groups), increase your “influence factor” and become that dynamic leader!★ Be yourself★ Be consistent in ideals and motives ★ Be inspirational in everything you do

In return you’ll create an Branch of:

LOYALTY – deep sense that you will lead others to greater success.

MOTIVATION – you will create a branch of self-motivated, confident people that will run through walls for you if asked.

EMULATION – imitation is the finest form of flattery. Your people will want to emulate your style because it’s effective, dynamic and contagious!

PRODUCTION – well structured and organized professionals will drive your production (AP and Recruiting) to new higher levels.

I Can’t say this enough: The way you project yourself “on stage” as a leader will have a greater impact than anything else in determining your success as a Leader.

Science Behind a SpeechEngineering and Design

Length and Timing

Einstein’s theory of relativity may say that time and distance are identical, but not when you’re delivering your prepared speech. Plan on adding 33% more time vs. the time it took to practice the speech. Expect a live audience to slow down your delivery – and that does not include any Q&A.

Designing a SpeechDESIGN:

The key to designing a speech is to make it flow.

Patterns you can use to make it flow are:1. Problems and Solution.2. Past, Present and Future.3. Cause and Effect.

This will create a template for your speech.

Next, write your ideas on index cards then put them into these categories:

1. Open/Intro - “key is to get off on the right foot” – Golf 1st tee.

2. Body Index – talking and data points, include logical and emotional appeals, use success stories from your branch. Mark Murphy, from the Leadership IQ calls if “storytelling” and it’s highly effective.

3. Close/Conclusion – Your final chance to influence your audience

Let’s Break It Down FurtherINTRODUCTION

Your speech starts the moment you walk on stage.

Who you are/what you do/why you are here – Make it clear.

What’s your objective – Why your audience should listen.

Introductions can include: QuotationsRhetorical QuestionsStories or AntidotesStartling Statistic (my favorite)Historical Event Title of Your SpeechUse of Same Day Newsworthy

Item

Simple FactsAVOID:

The Phrase “Before I begin” – you began when you walked to the front of the room. Do not apologize for anything on stage – sign of weakness.

KEY:

Quickly develop a common bond with your audience while emphasizing the speech subject.

BODY:

Simple, succinct data and talking points about your subject matter.

CONCLUSION:

“A speech is a like a love affair. Anyone can start one, but it takes a lot of skill to end it.”

  

The Conclusion Must:SUMMARIZE YOUR SPEECH

Summarize your major points – quick review.Remind your audience of your attitudes towards the ideas you expressed.

PROVIDE CLOSUREYour conclusion must give the audience a feeling that your speech is complete. People have a psychological need for closure. Put a period at the end of your speech and leave it there.

CONCLUSION KEY – LEAVE GREAT FINAL IMPRESSION. The conclusion is your last chance to influence audience expectations. Conclusions should “grab” their attention and score a direct hit to their

gut. Stability, financial strength, captive market and opportunity unlimited. If we don’t call you back, I wish you the best of luck in your career

search! I grab their attention and hit them right in the gut! Selective – people covet what they can’t have, make them covet you. Cue the audience in advance of your closing remark – It Builds

anticipation.

  

Art of Giving A Good Speech

First understand, there are no natural born speakers – public speaking is all about practice and experience – become a

student of the game!BODY LANGUAGE

Audiences want animation, passion and energy.If the eyes are the window to the soul, than the face is the front

door.Use facial expressions to accentuate key points – it’s a great

rapport builder.Audiences will take away from your speech the emotion and appeal

points you illicit in them – the TRICK is you must bring it out!Smile early and often.

The way you move, dress, act and make eye contact dramatically affects how the audience receives your message.

Are you dressed for success (stated not overblown).Do your verbal and non-verbal messages match?

Make eye contact with as many people in your audience as possible.

Establish eye contact at the end of a thought – people will nod their heads under the pressure of your gaze.

Use your attention gauge: The audience’s eyes should be on you at all times.

  

Punctuating Your Speech

with Posture

  

Stand up straight, feet slightly apart and your arms ready to gesture. Leaning slightly towards your audience –

indicates you are engaged, attentive and poised for communication.Avoid standing with hands on hips/in pockets. 

Moving around the stage is fine. It helps maintain audience attention – but make your pattern irregular, as not to lull your audience.

Avoid – endless and erratic movements, it is a distraction.

Voice, Tone & InflectionIt’s not really so much about what you say (content) but how you say it.

Don’t be monotone. Use vocal variety.

Change your tone levels and voice inflection to emphasize (sense of urgency).

It’s your job to keep your audience engaged and interested, think compelling.

Key – remember, you control the speed, tempo and format of the speech.

Stay supremely confident as you stand and deliver.

Dog Smells Fear – If they smell fear in your voice, they are going to question your conviction.

Pronounce clearly, and get rid of the filler sounds. Um, ah, like, you know, okay, actually.

Use volume as a tool, being vocally dynamic can have amazing affects on audiences.

  

DistractionsCELL PHONES – Stay poised, don’t lose your train of thought.

PODIUMS – Rule of thumb is “don’t use them”. You don’t connect as

well with audience. Podium – disengages and acts as a

barrier. If you do decide to use one, get out from behind

it as often as possible. My best use for a podium – keep a bottle of water there.

TECHNICAL ISSUES - Be prepared to go “old school’, have your back up notes close by. Microsoft will close on you and reboot is not an option.

LATE ARRIVALS - Acknowledge them and move on if necessary.

KEY - Act as if everything that happens is planned – stop, pause and calmly move forward. Great time to inject humor, if you are funny, if not leave it alone.

  

VOCABULARY

Use power words; decisive, hot, critical, urgent, compelling. Mix them in!

 

Avoid industry jargon words (group only) unless you define them to the audience (AUM, AP, RMS, DCN, etc.).

TACTICS:

Asking Rhetorical questions  Does 3 things: 1. Gets audience to concentrate on a single

discussion point 2. Allows speaker to control direction of the

point being made (the answer you want to hear)

3.Elicits feedback from audience.

The Rule of Three: Grouping together three words, phrases or

sentences makes a powerful impression on the human mind. – I came – I saw – I conquered.

–Recruit – Hire – Train.

Repetition

MLK repeated, “I have a dream” 47 times in his famous speech. Repetition is a dramatic way to create a rhythm. It’s a dramatic way to make a point. It’s a dramatic way to show your style. (just gave you the rule of three)

 

DON’T BECOME PREDICTABLE – Branch and Manager meetings

 

You will lose your luster - Guaranteed! It’s easy to fall into a predictable pattern of

presentation themes and motivational tactics when addressing your agency. 

Key: Keep them guessing. Mix it up. IDEAS: - Outline a recent book you read or

movie you saw. - Use industry news as a topic for discussion. - Review a new sales or recruiting

methodology (spin, solution, needs based, TAS, customer centric, what ever is hot! There’s always something new)

Don’t become predictable

This lets your people know 2 things:

1. You’re on top of your game

2. You expect them to be too.

Do not become a victim of your own success. 

You might think you sound inspiring but if your not getting the results you want, chances are you might have become stale and static.  

Key is to recognizes this and change it up. VIDEO yourself from time to time! And if you want to check your non-verbal body language - turn the audio off. It’s an amazing tool. 

DRESS THE PART

 

Your attire is part of the message, and it should augment what you say, not detract from it.

MAKE YOUR SPEECH SPARKLE

 

Edit transitions between topics, make them flow - they are the glue that holds your speech together. 

Transitions let your audience know when your moving from one idea to another. 

Don’t write your speech like a report, its meant for the ear not the eye. Write it like you say it. 

Written speech should recall like a great movie, you remember all your favorite parts by heart. 

READ YOUR SPEECH ALOUD IN PRACTICE How does it sound?

  

 

Make your speech Sparkle

Does it have a good rhythm?

Vary the pace of speech

Make sentences short and cut out tongue twisters

Avoid passive statements (passive voice is like a weed that creeps into your writing) prune it out.

Be specific; don’t let the audience draw their own conclusions.

Use exciting verbs! – easy enough, just hit the thesaurus button on your tool bar; you’ll get all kinds of suggestions. 

Get rid of clichés and buzz words (tired). I hear “it is what it is” one more time right Phil (Inside joke)

 

Group Career Briefing

It’s why we get paid. It’s the center of our universe! This is where we make everything happen!

Running a Group - Find your strength in what you translate best to audiences and work it until it bleeds. 

IN the GROUP Presentation -You can get all the same laughs and all the same positive reactions in all the exact same places every time! Why? Because its always a new audience! 

Don’t Fall victim to your own mastery!

 

Are you challenging yourself to do the best group you’ve ever done each time you run it? Don’t get stale, be creative.  

KEY: You have got to believe your selling a $100k+ opportunity to everyone in that room. 

What;s their energy level? You can see it their eyes when you warm them up. 

Be Versatile - We typically present to a mix of baby boomers (47-64), Gen Y and X. That’s diversity.

You need to play to this mix when running an effective group.

Get Smart: Baby Boomers - Love empirical data- feed it to them!

They look for honesty and credibility. They admire value and flexible schedules.

Generation X (my peeps) - Need a compelling reason to make a change in their lives! Tough sell. 

Generation Y- Need to be entertained, captivated and spoon-fed material that gives them instant gratification. Easy enough!

Key to selling the dream:  Personal conviction - Your story of success. Passion for making people’s lives better (both your

customers and your agents). If it’s real, it will translate Making this a selective process! – people covet what

they can’t have, make them covet you! 

Addition Notes on GROUP

Dynamic Lead Source Put your best athlete on stage to transfer belief. THAT’S

YOU! Make it personal, name tags (arts and crafts at a Fortune

400). Stop, Pause for effect. Energy, excitement – but not overhyped. Quell open Q&A - Are you a eco-friendly green company? Evaluation A/1-Have them Sell (appearance and

communication)  Note: No one should ever get up and walk out of group –

that is all recruiting control and evaluation – expectations were not set and qualification was not deep enough.

Using Powerpoints: 

Absolutely, but it should only support your speech, not replace it.

Cautions:

Don’t let a powerpoint cause your speech to be underdeveloped.

You still must sell your message while being compelling.

Have your OWN strong Opening and Closing - Turn on powerpoint only after your opening and turn it off before you close.

Dim the lights, Don’t ever “ fade to black”! Huge mistake!   

Handling After-Speech Questions – It’s Inevitable

(We sometimes do an after-group interview- avoid Q& A in Group setting) The Secret to giving a brilliant answer is knowing the question in

advance. Anticipation - Think about all angles someone could possibly look at

when asking you a question about your topic. Don’t ever let someone pose a question and give a speech, it’ still your

spotlight! You’re on stage until everyone that heard your speech has left the building.

Repeat the question to the audience - there is nothing more frustrating then giving a brilliant answer to a question that no one heard! Or remembered! (It can also buy you some time if needed.)

Never guess at an answer, that’s a one-way ticket to zero credibility.  Keep your answers simple, succinct and brief.  Tie your answers back to your speech to reinforce the points you made

earlier- makes you look like you foresaw the question? Which you actually did! 

Speech /Presentation topics

Ideas: 

Building your empire - 10 codes at a time Creating the right recruiting culture - and keeping it! Networking for success in the online world Recruiting as a lifestyle Dynamics of a successful branch Improving field training Turning hires into codes How to run an effective group Recruiting by the numbers

Ideas How to become an effective leader at Liberty

Time management - run your day or it will run you

The art of running POS

Quality of Business - road to profitability

How to Drive $20k/wk as an Unit Manager

Overcoming objections in the field