Have you every listened to a story and thought โThatโs a great story, butโฆ..whatโs the point?โย ย Recently I attended a Toastmasters District speech contest.ย Some well-told and engaging stories were shared.ย However, at the conclusion of most speeches, I was left with two questionsโฆ 1) Whatโs the point? and 2) Why should I care?
Far too often, presenters leave their audiences with theseย two questions.ย The stories may be interesting, but there is no powerful walk-away message for the listener. When this happens, stories and speakers are quickly forgotten.ย This is good for you because, if you create a meaningful and memorable point to your stories, you can stand out from the crowd.
Remember this critical point: Audiences have short attention spans and are under immense time pressure.ย They need to know as quickly as possible why to listen to you.ย Before you can stand out from other presenters, itโs important to be honest with yourself.ย Answer the question โDo my stories have a useful point, or am I simply entertaining myself?โย When I asked this question, I didnโt like the answer.ย However, it forced me to look outside myself and look for messages that would benefit an audience.
When coaching, one of the first questions I now ask isโฆ โWhy THIS story?ย Does it support your main point?โ followed by โWhy should the audience care?โย Before you invest time to create a presentation, answer these questions.ย Your responses will serve as an anchor for your speech.ย Each aspect of the story can be measured against this anchor.ย If it doesnโt support or add to your main point, leave it out.ย Carefully scrutinizing each aspect of your story to insure it supports your main message will make for a leaner, more impactful speech, one that your audience will remember long after you walk off stage.
Well said Michael, with the least amount of words..
Tks! Annette