A and B is C.
Where does this lead? To B.
A is not the only aspect. B is also an important factor.
Here are some examples of more creative, not necessarily logical, transitions:
After a long pause, move to different position on the stage.
Show the titles of A, B, and C on sheets of paper, like in a boxing ring.
Recite a short poem between each speech block.
Your creativity is only limited by your imagination. Nothing is impossible in public speaking. Or are you a dead fish?
Boost your content even more by creating smooth and clear transitions.
THE DRAINPIPE
According to the 2009 World Champion of Public Speaking, Mark Hunter of Australia, it’s not the foundation that makes the Speech Structure Building™ special. Neither is it the three A-B-C pillars — the speech body. Nor is it the rooftop, which caps the three pillars, completing the Greek temple form of the Speech Structure Building™.
Mark says, It’s the drainpipe.
The key element of this speech structuring model is the drainpipe, which connects the closing of a speech with its opening.
Two examples of drainpipes:
Szymon from Krakow spoke in one of my seminars about his greatest fears in life. He held a balloon in his left hand. He moved gently towards one of his colleagues. Then - BOOM - the balloon burst right in front of her face. Szymon yelled,
What did you see in her face?
Fear! shouted another colleague.
Szymon replied: Exactly — fear!
What a great opening!
But - when his speech came to an end, Szymon missed out on a great opportunity to use a drainpipe. His message was that we should change our perception about what we fear, that fear only exists in our heads.
In the feedback round after Szymon’s speech, I suggested that he could have picked up another balloon and, without bursting it, passed it to the same colleague, and said, Change your perception!
That balloon would have made a magnificent drainpipe by connecting back to his beginning.
On another occasion my friend, conflict mentor Tobias Rodrigues, used a wonderful drainpipe based on chiasmus, a rhetorical device of reversed repetition. It was his icebreaker (his first speech) at our Toastmasters club in Barcelona.
Tobias opened his speech with the words, My life in your hands.... He reinforced the phrase by using hand gestures — from touching his chest to reaching out to his audience.
Tobias ended his speech by saying, Your hands in my life....
As he said this, he reversed his hand gestures.
I just loved Tobias’ chiastic drainpipe.
It’s the drainpipe which makes your speech round, that brings it full circle. And — as you can see by the two examples, there are no limits to the creative possibilities when it comes to drainpipes.
Boost your content even more by constructing a drainpipe.
WHY SHOULD THEY CARE
You can have the best content, the best delivery, the best slides, the best sound system, the best moderator to set the stage for you, and the friendliest audience. But if your speech is not relevant to your audience, it’s nothing but a dud.
Why should people care about your message, about what you have to say?
This question should always be in the forefront of your mind. Most public speakers write their content, present it, and hope somebody will care. That’s exactly backwards!
Instead, you should analyse your audience in advance, think about their needs, and adapt your speech content to those needs. Empathize with them; think about your audience’s perspective, about how they feel.
This will allow you to make your speech relevant to them.
A good way to boost your level of relevance is to ask rhetorical questions. Have you ever asked yourself why rhetorical questions are so powerful? Rhetorical questions make the audience confirm your point. Once they nod, indicating their agreement, you have them in the palm of your hand.
Who of you here has children? Aren’t they wonderful? Aren’t they precious? Wouldn’t you agree that we should protect our little angels?
Today, I will talk about a budget increase for private security services.
Without the rhetorical questions, the audience might think only about the cost, and switch you off right away. On the other hand, after you’ve asked these rhetorical questions, it is very difficult for your audience just to tune you out. You’ve made it relevant to them personally.
Whether you use rhetorical questions or not, you must always find an answer to this one crucial question when you’re preparing a speech:
Why should they care?
Boost your content even more by making your speech relevant to your audience.
BE A MANDELA, BE A KING, BE A KENNEDY
The unification of a nation, equal rights, or a man on the moon — Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and John F. Kennedy — they had one thing in common: they all shared their vision with the people.
How can you convince people to follow your lead if you don’t share your vision? From business presentations to wedding speeches — always share your vision. Audiences love it.
Typical vison-triggering phrases are:
Where do I see this department five years from now?
My vision of the future is...
Imagine what we can accomplish as a team...
Once I visited the Hewlett-Packard plant in Barcelona. In a long hallway, a mega-sized poster said: Seeing is believing. With your personal vision, you paint a colorful picture of the future. People can see it, and they can start to believe in it. If you don’t share your vision, you’ll miss out on a great opportunity to communicate. Maybe you’re not a Mandela or a King or a Kennedy, but you have a vision too. Share it with your audience!
Boost your content even more by sharing your vision.
ONCE UPON A TIME
Back in the days when there were no iPads, no cell phones, no computers, no television, back in the days when radio didn’t even exist, back
