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"Talk
differently"
Fredrik Härén
As a speaker on creativity who has given more than
1000 speeches in over 30 countries I often get asked:
"How can one deliver an innovative presentation?".
My
short answer is: Learn all the rules of speaking
- but don't be afraid to break them. Because good
speeches follow the laws of rhetoric - but great
speeches break them.
Here
are some examples on how it could make sense to
not follow the common sense of how to give a speech:
Rule
n° 1) A speaker should talk.
True. But great speakers know that the best parts
of any speech are the pauses. It is what you communicate
when you are NOT saying anything that will make
the biggest impact.
Study how many great speakers pause for much longer
when they speak than merely good speakers do.
Rule
n° 2) Write down the speech word-by-word and
learn it by heart.
True, rehearsal is important. But some of the best
speeches in history were improvised. Like Bobby
Kennedy´s speech when he was informed about
Martin Luther King's death just minutes before taking
the stage. Or for that matter Martin Luther King's
most famous speech where the "I have a dream"
part was NOT in his prepared speech, but was rather
something that he improvised.
Good speakers learn by heart. Great speakers talk
from the heart.
Rule
n° 3) Have questions at the end.
Makes sense. But so does the idea of having questions
at the beginning - just after you have introduced
yourself as a speaker and told the audience what
you are going to talk about. Because a speech is
a journey. And to have questions at the end is like
asking the audience to jump into a taxi and after
55 minutes of a 60 minutes ride the driver turns
around and asks: "Oh, where would you like
to go?"
If you ask questions at the beginning you give the
audience a chance to influence the journey.
So
remember: to break the Laws of Rhetoric is not a
crime. But please also remember that being creative
does not mean "to do things differently".
It means "to IMPROVE by doing things differently."
Some of the worst speakers ever have been speakers
who try to be "different" for the sake
of being different. Don´t be afraid to leave
the beaten path - but don´t jump off it in
blind foolishness either...
Fredrik Härén
Fredrik is a speaker and author on business creativity.
He was awarded "Speaker of The Year" in
Sweden 2007. He now lives in Singapore and speaks
around the world. His book "The Idea Book"
was recently included in "The 100 Best Business
Books of All Time". |
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