Recently I attended a workshop by Darren Tay, the champion of Toastmasters Worldcup . On a separate event, I was very privileged to speak to Richard Avery directly, a serial emcee and speaker for sport events. They really know how to talk! Below are the tips they shared about public speaking, which are not often found online but definitely insightful.
From Darren Tay
1) A Twittable Message
- The key is: concise + succinct = impact
- Which leads people to feel one of these 4:
- Happiness
- Purpose
- Freedom
- Prosperity
- Test the message if it’s universal enough
2) Low-Lying Food Theorem
- Create immediacy
- Break down the giant purpose into bite-size
- Include action step
3) Dialogue, Not Narration
- Insert dialogues in story-telling
4) Hero’s Journey
- Use failure stories
- Insert role models
From Richard Avery
1) Don’t speak on things you are not familiar with, you are not supposed to
- Do research and homework
- Research on event context, audience, event focus, other panellists or speakers (if there are)
2) Ask questions that would stimulate the speakers’ brains
- Instead of very general question, ask something more insightful / in quantitative terms / personalized to the speaker
- Too general: What do you think of China market?
- Good example: Given the fast tech growth in China, what do you see as the big impacts there to local markets in 3-years time?
- Good example: There hasn’t been any icon in boxing field for Singapore before and you are the first fighter now, how do you deal with the pressure?
3) Don’t write script, use bullet points instead
4) Being nervous is a good thing, it shows that you care
