Public Speaking part 10

Hello again,

Today, a few tips on structuring your presentation.

You probably know about the old 'tell them' advice.

1. Tell them what you're going to tell them
2. Tell them
3. Tell them what you've told them.

It's good advice, and as long as you show a bit of originality in your presentation, it is guaranteed to work.

But you don't just have to use it for the overall framework - it works just as well in each section of your presentation, so your speech can be a series of mini presentations, topped and tailed by a 'tell them what' introduction and a 'tell them what' summary.

Remember that most people will forget most of what you tell them unless it's:

a) Extremely memorable, or

b) Extremely relevant to them, or

c) Repeated several times.

So don't be afraid to repeat a point, especially a crucial or difficult point, several times if necessary. But to make it memorable, why not make your part 1's contentious, funny or seemingly impossible? Then set about demonstrating how that can be for your part 2, and part 3 then becomes something like 'So you see, the moon really is made of cheese', or whatever.

The purpose is to get people to pay attention by grabbing their interest with your 'headline' version of what you're going to tell them, then you entertain them as you explain how it can be true. Finally, you remind them what you've just told them, drawing attention once again to how unlikely, funny or controversial it sounded. Then they might remember!

Do this on a smaller scale with each section and you might get people to remember more than one or two points, but don't be surprised or offended if they don't - at least some element of public speaking is reminding people that they can't remember or do everything and they might just need an expert's help! Actually educating people is another skill entirely.

Most information products include a disclaimer to the effect that the product is for 'entertainment purposes' only - that's not a bad way to look at your public speaking. Although you're imparting good information, most people listening won't actually retain much of it, and they'll almost ceratinly apply even less.

Bear that in mind and it suddenly takes a bit of the pressure off, does it not?

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS Sign up for Roy Everitt dotcom and get regular updates from the site, PLUS extra news, offers and special members-only deals. Just leave your name and email top right on this page.

PPS Still to come - MI.7 have managed to stay under wraps, despite the break in, but I promise my members will be the first to know when they finally break cover...

Also, 'Information Products Made Easy' will be made available to my members first - so sign up now!

WRITING FOR RESULTS HAS MOVED HOME!

You'll find me now at www.royeveritt.com where I add new content most days.

There's plenty of archive material here and at my old blog www.poemsforprofits.blogspot.com but all the new stuff will henceforth be on the new site.

Why? Well it's due to some feedback I received at Britpack Live and a decision to start using my name as a brand. Hiding behind a company name or an obscure website URL is not the way to raise my profile in the copywriting and marketing firmament.

So, Roy Everitt dotcom it is, at www.royeveritt.com

See you there!

Roy

North to South - a run and a long walk

Well, it could have been a long walk, what with our car expiring en route to Coventry and the Britpack Live event. On my birthday, too. In the end, the faithful RAC got us there.

A week earlier, I was at the Great North Run with my son, supported by his girlfriend and her parents. Hampered by the crowds, we ran quite slowly, and that's all you need to know, except that we finished feeling quite comfortable and we raised about a thousand pounds or so for our chosen charities.

So, to Britpack Live. What a fantastic weekend. Top quality speakers who turned out to be top quality company offstage as well. Absolutely loads of networking opportunities, dozens of potential JV partners and enough breakthrough information to leave all the delegates' heads spinning for days.

We're still catching our breaths and catching up with the contacts we made. And , of course, we're busier than ever taking action!

We'll be telling you all about the exciting events in Coventry and posting some pictures of Britpack Live on the new MI.7 blog very soon.

You haven't heard about MI.7?

It was the talk of Britpack Live. And you'll be hearing a lot about MI.7 in the next few months, just as soon as we're ready to let the secret out.

Just remember you heard it here first.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

So Much For That

Well, so much for the travel blog. I did manage to keep a diary of my time in the Pyrenees (see previous post) but I didn't find a lot of internet access, not surprisingly.

Nor have I found time since I got back to write up the diary into any legible form.

Still, the mammoth ride was a success. I had a great time supporting the Le Knees team for the first week or so, and my replacement did a stirling job in week two. The ride culminated in an unexpectedly hard last couple of days, battling bigger hills than I thought, plus strong onshore headwinds.

They made it, though. I have to admit I shed a small tear of pride more than once while I was with them, and another when I got the call late on Friday afternoon to say the celebratory champagne was being opened.

This week has been busy, busy, busy, but I finally found time to blog!

I will find time for the Great North Run this Sunday, too.

It's not too late to sponsor my efforts for MS Society at www.justgiving.co.uk/royeveritt

Roy Everitt, Running for Results

Let's Try Some Travel Writing, Shall We?

Nothing to do with either business or writing, except that I'll be trying to do a bit of both while I'm there, but I'm off to the South of France this Friday, 7th September.

One thing I may have mentioned here before is that I'll be doing the Great North Run, on Tyneside, on 30th September. I probably also mentioned that my brother in law John will be cycling the length of the Pyrenees, in the company of three other madmen, in the two weeks from the 9th.

John called up, sounding a bit anxious, a couple of weeks ago, to say that their support driver had had to drop out and could I please help?

One of the things that Suffolk lacks is big hills, and I gather these are more plentiful in the Northeast, so the Great North Run was promising to be quite a shock. A week or so running in the Pyrenees might be enough to put those Geordie hills in their place, though. So, of course, I snapped at the chance to join 'Le Knees', as they're calling themselves, for the first week or so.

I'll be taking my laptop, a camera and my running shoes, along with plenty of work to be getting on with while I wait for Le Knees to drag themselves over yet another Tour de France col.

So, I'll be trying to post the odd blog entry while I'm there, t'Internet connections permitting.

And while I'm here I may as well give you the inevitable sponsorship links. I'm running the Great North Run for MS Society, and my site is www.justgiving.com/royeveritt . John is cycling the Pyrenees for the British Heart Foundation and he's at www.justgiving.com/johncarrel and you'll find Le Knees at http://web.mac.com/jeremy_rushton/iWeb/Le%20Knees%202007/ with links to the other riders' sponsorship pages.

Roy Everitt, Running For Results

My Knees on tv - AND in the Pyrenees?

Two of the blessings I'm fortunate to be able to count amongst many are my health and fitness. A bit of work goes into the fitness and a little care into my health, but not everyone is so lucky.

My father wasn't. For the last 30 years of his life he suffered from increasingly disabling Multiple Sclerosis. Too many people still suffer from the varying and unpredictable effects of what is still an uncurable disease.

Research goes on to find better treatments and to isolate a cure, but meanwhile the families and carers of MS sufferers suffer too. MS Society was created to help everyone who's affected by the disease to cope better, thanks to the help and support of strangers and supporters.

That's why I'll be doing the televised Great North Run on 30th September, four days before my 51st birthday. My father could barely walk after his 45th birthday and not at all by his 6oth.

I've set an ambitious sponsorship target but you can help me reach it. You can sponsor me by clicking on the button below.



Roy Everitt, Running For Results

PS I've just heard I'll be supporting some more great causes earlier in September. Due to a last minute hitch, 'LeKnees', who are cycling the length and height of the Pyrenees on 8th-21st September, found themselves without a support driver for the first week. Luckily, one of the 'LeKnees' team is my brother-in-law, and I was able to step in. They're riding in aid of some truly deserving charities, and of course they're looking for sponsorship too!

You can read all about their plans, including details of some of the truly terrifying climbs they'll be making, HERE.

Seeing The Light

I've been doing a lot of reading lately.

One of the advantages of working for oneself, and working from home, is the ability to devote whatever time we wish to whatever we choose to do.

It's also one of the disadvantages, but more on that in a moment.

One of the books I finally got around to reading is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Another is Rich Dad Poor Dad andyet another was a more recent book called How to Get Rich, by Felix Dennis.

While Dennis talks very openly about the disadvantages of becoming rich, he is also gracious enough to tell us how we might do so, so we can find out for ourselves.

And while each of the authors of the above books has his own own slant on it (what marketers sometimes call a 'unique technology'), they all ultimately converge upon a few essential ideas:

1 Identifying a market or a need or a hunger

2 Sourcing, creating or reinventing a product to meet that need or hunger

3 Taking action

Which probably means - once we've truly got the message on board - reading fewer books when we could be acting on the advice within them!

Now, for each of us, there might be a particular book, maybe even a particular passage in a particular book, that will tip the balance within us, finally compelling us to act.

Maybe it's a matter of reaching a critical mass - a mass of information, knowledge, wisdom or ideas. I suspect it's a combination of both these, plus outside circumstances that finally tips us into our new way of life.

Whatever; whenever we finally take action, the results of that action often seem as inevitable as sunrise (and almost as illuminating)...

One way I know to hurry the sunrise is to move towards it. The faster we run (or fly) the sooner we get to see the light.

Or, the faster we act, the sooner our sky brightens.

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results