Why Use Questions to Connect?
A common challenge for most presenters is how to capture their best ideas that will quickly gain audience attention. An obvious reason for this is that people are easily distracted today. We must capture their attention with our first words, or we risk not creating any kind of bond with them.
Another reason for this is that weโre often too close to our material. We discount our perspective in our areas of expertise and we donโt see the power in our own experiences.
Years ago, one of my mentors taught me a terrific method to capture my most meaningful material. Mark Brown, the 1995 World Champion of Public Speaking, suggests that you ask three questions that will uncover the topics that impact you the most.
The Three Magic Questions
The questions are:
What amazes you?
What amuses you?
What motivates you?
Those three questions will help you gain insight into the types of stories that you should be sharing with others.
Iโve discovered some of my best speech topics with these questions.
Examples of Answers to Each Question
What amazes you?
- The birth of my son, Brenden.
- His ability to teach me a valuable life lesson when he was three years old.
- Seeing a man thank my Dad 25 years after being a student in his class.
What amuses me?
- An off-handed comment from a seminar attendee on an evaluation form
- My eight-pound chihuahuaโs ability to control me with a simple look.
- Getting lost in a parking garage for 15 minutes.
What motivates me?
- Entertaining people, like I do in an improv class.
- Leaving a legacy, like with my daily tips videos.
- Exercising, so I can be healthy for as long as possible.
In each of these, there is a seed of an idea that might help an audience. Simple, everyday experiences that can give people a different perspective and make their lives a little better.
So, whatโs your answer?
What amazes you? Amuses you? Motivates you?
Recommended Resource
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Looks interesting!!