PlusPlus. Florian Mueck

dialogs can also serve as a smart carrier of what might otherwise be inappropriate expressions:

       Then my friend Thomas replied, “This is crap!"

      You didn’t say it — your friend Thomas did!

      Dialogs bring life into your speeches, and bring your speeches to life. Use them often!

      Boost your content even more by adding dialogs.

      A GREAT CONNECTOR

      A special form of dialog is the internal dialog, also known as “soliloquy”.

       I always wondered, Can I really do this?

       I asked myself, Am I doing the right thing?

       For years I looked for an answer to this question: Shouldn’t I go for a big change in my life?

      This pattern has popped up in countless speech evaluations. Internal dialog connects with your audience. The reason is simple: Humans have doubts, anxieties, wishes, longings, unanswered questions. When you launch a dialog with yourself, your audience can easily identify with you.

      Boost your content even more by including a soliloquy.

      THE PASSION BRIDGE

       How can I present the monthly business unit results with passion?

      I’ve heard this question, or something similar, so many times — and I have to admit, the question makes a valid point. And yet, making excuses for dull public speeches correlates 100% with a lack of creativity.

      You can, literally, add passion to any speech. The trick is to use the passions and hobbies of your life, and build metaphorical bridges to your speech content. You’ll find that a great many metaphorical bridges lead right into the heart of the language of business:

      Chess: vision, planning, strategy

      Children: growth, motivation, lifelong learning

      Cooking: vision, patience, creativity, innovation

      Cycling: perseverance, the extra mile, training

      Fishing: market analysis, promotion, patience

      Friends: trust, reliability, “client” orientation

      Marathon: perseverance, milestones, strategic focus

      Mountain climbing: risk taking, goal setting, teamwork

      Piano: multitasking, versatility

      Soccer: team play, training, strategy and tactics

      What are your passions and hobbies in life? Use them! You can build metaphorical bridges to all kinds of content — even to that presentation of your business unit’s monthly results.

      A software company’s major markets were Spain, Germany, the UK, France and Italy. So when the CFO presented the finance department’s strategy, he used the UEFA Champions League as his metaphor. He gave their key clients the names of famous football clubs: F.C. Barcelona, Bayern München, Manchester United, Olympique Lyonnais, AC Milan. Since he was himself such a fervent football fan, his passion powered his presentation so much that his eyes sparkled as he explained his strategy and virtually scored his future goals.

      Nothing is impossible in public speaking. Using your passions creatively makes for more effective presentations.

      Boost your content even more by building bridges of passion.