No, Speaking Doesn’t Involve Physically Attacking Your Audience!
Chris, to whose group I was speaking, asked. “Michael, are there some basic techniques I can use to give a good speech, or should I learn something new? I mean, there’s only so much you can do, right?”
Chris had asked a good question, and made an excellent point about speaking before an audience.
In learning any new skill, far too many people want to quickly pick up as many new ideas as possible, thinking that more knowledge is the key to mastery. What they don’t understand is that the key to excellence is mastering the basics.
Every spring, baseball teams return to Spring training; every summer, football teams return to training camp. Why?
Because in the downtime between seasons, they could develop bad habits, or forget some of the essential moves or plays they need to make to be the best they can be. Training camps are designed to help players review and re-master the basics.
Anthony Robbins tells the story of one of his martial arts instructors, Tae Kwon Do Grand Master Jhoon Rhee. Students often approach Master Rhee and say “teach me something new.” He typically responds: “I will not. Until you have mastered the seven basic fundamentals, you are not ready to learn new techniques.”
Jhoon Rhee understands that repetition of the essential elements creates excellence. Great performers don’t get bored with basics – they’re energized by the challenge of mastery.
The same holds true for speaking. Before you attempt to learn new delivery ideas, or pick up new tools to craft a better message, ask yourself if you have mastered these basics:
– Develop a single, walk away idea that is as clear as possible to your audience
– Craft stories that create an experience that grabs audiences emotionally
– Use silence to allow audiences to experience humor AND reflect on your key points
– Open with a Bang
– Conclude on a high note, and a call to action
These are not all the essentials, but this is a good place to start. Master these five and you’re well on your way to creating a memorable talk.
Can you learn new ideas and skills to become a better speaker?
Absolutely.
Should you learn those skills now?
Not necessarily. Until you’ve gone deeper in your knowledge and use of the basic elements, wait. The additional ideas will be there, waiting for you, but only when you’ve taken the advice of a Tae Kwon Do Grand Master and mastered the basics.
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Speaking Lessons From a Tae Kwon Do Master ultima modifica: 2015-09-19T13:14:27-04:00 da Michael Davis
"Michael transformed our everyday managers into conference presenters by coaching them and by challenging the traditional methods they were using to present. The outcome was phenomenal.
Our conference was elevated to a new level of professionalism. Michael will be retained to help make our trainers become better communicators, both visually and verbally and to assist us with next year’s conference. We highly recommend him and Speaking CPR to assist with your next event."
Robert Gerbus, President, Trans Ash, Inc.
Speaking CPR
5
2018-05-10T09:44:06-04:00
Robert Gerbus, President, Trans Ash, Inc.
"Michael transformed our everyday managers into conference presenters by coaching them and by challenging the traditional methods they were using to present. The outcome was phenomenal. Our conference was elevated to a new level of professionalism. Michael will be retained to help make our trainers become better communicators, both visually and verbally and to assist us with next year’s conference. We highly recommend him and Speaking CPR to assist with your next event."
“As a former Green Beret and professional storyteller, I give dozens of speeches every year. I am very selective about who trains me.
Michael Davis exceeded every expectation and was one of the best coaches I ever worked with. His quiet professionalism, and unsurpassed knowledge of storytelling helped make my Ted X Cincinnati talk extremely powerful. I would recommend Michael, as a story and speaking coach to anyone with a high stakes talk to give. Michael will help you take your speech from good to great!”
LTC (Ret.) Scott Mann, Green Beret, Storyteller, Trainer, Coach, Author
Speaking CPR
5
2018-05-10T09:45:38-04:00
LTC (Ret.) Scott Mann, Green Beret, Storyteller, Trainer, Coach, Author
“As a former Green Beret and professional storyteller, I give dozens of speeches every year. I am very selective about who trains me. Michael Davis exceeded every expectation and was one of the best coaches I ever worked with. His quiet professionalism, and unsurpassed knowledge of storytelling helped make my Ted X Cincinnati talk extremely powerful. I would recommend Michael, as a story and speaking coach to anyone with a high stakes talk to give. Michael will help you take your speech from good to great!”
“We are privileged to have Michael Davis of Speaking CPR as one of the Speaker Coaches for ourTED x Cincinnatievent. I had the opportunity to be on several of the calls with Michael as he worked his craft with his speakers.I was impressed with howgenuine, exuberant, and in touchhe was with each speaker.
He truly has agift in connecting with the heart of each personhe works with and helping them to unleash their story into their talk.All of the speakersraved about his work with them.Each of them has had broad experience in speaking, but they all felt that working with Michael raised the bar on their ability to speak. You can listen to all of his speakers, Anthony Munoz, Richard Bernstein and Graeme Joffe, at http://www.tedxcincinnati.com/talks/.”
Allison Wonders Gars Speaker Coach Manager, TED x Cincinnati
Speaking CPR
5
2018-03-20T17:08:04-04:00
Allison Wonders Gars Speaker Coach Manager, TED x Cincinnati
“We are privileged to have Michael Davis of Speaking CPR as one of the Speaker Coaches for our TED x Cincinnati event. I had the opportunity to be on several of the calls with Michael as he worked his craft with his speakers. I was impressed with how genuine, exuberant, and in touch he was with each speaker. He truly has a gift in connecting with the heart of each person he works with and helping them to unleash their story into their talk. All of the speakers raved about his work with them. Each of them has had broad experience in speaking, but they all felt that working with Michael raised the bar on their ability to speak. You can listen to all of his speakers, Anthony Munoz, Richard Bernstein and Graeme Joffe, at http://www.tedxcincinnati.com/talks/.”
“Investing in Michael is one of the best investments I have ever made. I speak on the subject of diversity in the workplace, which can at times be a difficult topic to discuss.
Michael taught me a repeatable process that allows me to create a foundational concept, a logical structure, an opening that grabs the audience’s attention, and a conclusion that encourages my audience to take action that will save them time and money.
I found Michael easy to work with, flexible with his schedule, and a wealth of information about the art of speaking. If you need to improve your presentation or speech, I highly recommend you consider hiring Michael. It is one of the best investments you can make in your own growth.”
Natalie Holder Founder, QUEST Diversity
Speaking CPR
5
2018-03-20T17:33:18-04:00
Natalie Holder Founder, QUEST Diversity
“Investing in Michael is one of the best investments I have ever made. I speak on the subject of diversity in the workplace, which can at times be a difficult topic to discuss. Michael taught me a repeatable process that allows me to create a foundational concept, a logical structure, an opening that grabs the audience’s attention, and a conclusion that encourages my audience to take action that will save them time and money. I found Michael easy to work with, flexible with his schedule, and a wealth of information about the art of speaking. If you need to improve your presentation or speech, I highly recommend you consider hiring Michael. It is one of the best investments you can make in your own growth.”