(Or read: 3 Build Tips For Novice Speakers)
Assuming that you have chosen a good structure for your speech, it is time to make your speech memorable. The “Build” components that will make your speech memorable include: starting with an attention-grabbing opener, repeating your primary ideas, and ending with a strong, definite close.
Tip #1: Preview and Summarize Your Core and Secondary Messages
Preview – After you get the attention of the audience with your opening, show them the structure so that they have a blueprint of the speech you are building.
By stating your Core Message early and clearly, and then providing a preview of your Secondary Messages, your audience will be better able to follow your presentation and remember your main points.
The more concise your Core Message and your Secondary Messages are, the easier they are to summarize. If they are pithy or rhythmic phrases, it will be easier for the audience to remember them.
Summary – As with your preview, your summary allows the audience to hear your message one final time. Just before you execute your strong, definite close, you can summarize the main points you want the audience to remember – your Core Message and your Secondary Messages.
Again, make sure your Core and Secondary Messages are concise so that the audience will remember them.
Tip #2: Begin with an Attention-Grabbing Opening
The members of your audience have busy lives. When you get up to speak, assume that your audience is preoccupied with any number of tasks, problems, pressures, and issues.
Your first job is to get their attention, to get them to focus on your speech and your message. While I highly recommend some dramatic action, movement, or vocalization, most speakers prefer to stay in their comfort zone and want an effective opening with conventional vocalizations and movement. Here are some attention-grabbing openers:
- A quotation
- A startling fact or statistic
- A personal story (perhaps start in the middle!)
- A “you-focused” question
The “you-focused” question is my favorite for several reasons. First, anyone can use it in almost any speaking situation. Second, it is conversational. Here is an example:
“Do you remember the last time you were stuck in traffic? (Pause . . .) What did you do? (Pause . . .) If you’re like me . . .”
Third, the you-focused question gets the audience actively involved, by asking them a direct question and pausing for a silent answer – in the mind of each audience member. As you may remember from our discussion of the Audience, a speech takes place in the minds of your audience. When the audience is thinking about a situation from their personal experience, you have moved into their world. They can each see the relevance of the speaker’s point and are then more receptive to your ideas.
For these reasons, I believe that the “you-focused question” is the strongest and most versatile opening available to most speakers.
Tip #3: End with a Strong, Definite Close
Too many speakers end with a “Question and Answer” (Q&A) session. This is a bad idea. You want to leave the audience with a final, memorable thought that you have chosen. Q&A often degenerates into a discussion, gets off your main points, or, worse, turns into a disagreement. If you must have a Q&A session, always leave two minutes at the end for the final thoughts you want the audience to remember.
Your ending should include a summary of your main points, followed by a strong, definite close. The summary can be quite brief, but should remind the audience of your Core and Secondary Messages. Remember, auditory communication goes out one ear and in the other!
The simplest way to ensure a memorable close (after your summary) is to return to your opening or to your Core Message. If you opened by dropping the audience in the middle of a story, finish the story here. If you started with a quotation from George Bernard Shaw, repeat part of it at the end. If you started with a you-focused question about being stuck in traffic, end with “So the next time you’re stuck in traffic, you’ll know what to do . . .”