Speaker James Humes narrates the story of a hotel breakfast he had with a man he sensed he knew, who had recognized him and sat down to talk. Mr. Hume tried everything to politely get the man to hint to his identity but finally after three cups of coffee, he resorted to the traditional "Tell me, how’s the family?""His stricken face flashed his name as soon as I blurted out that line"' wrote James Humes. "It was Claus von Bulow, the aristocratic socialite accused of attempting to murder his wife"... It was like saying "Mrs Lincoln, did you enjoy the play last night?'
We know thousands of faces but few of us rarely register the names.
The ear is one tenth of the organ of the eye.Yet we often live with the delusion that people are hanging on to every word we speak. The truth is very little heard by our ears is retained. We are constantly deleting the noise around us from our consciousness.
If we want to have a point remembered it must stand out as a headline stands out. How? Use repetition. Repetition for emphasis. Yet be warned! Just as a sign that is all headlines is confusing a preacher who thumps his fist and hammers home every line tires his audience. Just as a beautiful symphony builds up to memorable highlight, you must craft your words to add to explain and illuminate the point you are making.
Focus on the point you want your audience to remember and highlight it with laser like intensity. In addition to being a memory aid, repetition helps your audience understand your ideas clearly and know what to do with them.
But How?
Immediately restate an important point when it is made or after you have developed a main idea.
After you have had an important conversation restate the point: "The main point of our conversation that I hope you remember is...."
Sometimes we sense that our audience is not grasping our theme. It is at this point we need to emphasize, re-explain or reiterate the point, perhaps using different word, or even a different illustration.
In the case of sales, how your product can serve the customer’s needs must constantly emphasized. This requires you know the customer and get to know what (s)he needs. Perhaps you will need to tailor your product to his requirements, fine. Yet for the sale to go through he must know about it!
A lecture is not a report to be read blandly without regard to your audience. Rather, a talk is a projection of your personality and your ideas and life out to others. Like any relationship, it is not one sided.
How you develop your theme and newer questions will determine if your audience will remain interested and remember your main point.
Perhaps on stating your topic you might use short statements to outline the main points in your introduction, providing an overview of the questions answered and problems you will solve. You may even state how many main points will be discussed and number them. Once each point is covered, restate it and at the conclusion lie all these points into a unified whole. Explain how they tie together, both in the linking of sub points one to the next and again at the conclusion.
An effective conclusion will be expanded elsewhere; however, your conclusion must tie together your points into a single theme that your audience is to remember. You must not only be sure your audience knows your point, but that they know what you want them to do with the material.
You want your listener to act on your advice, so emphasize it!
If we want to have a point remembered it must stand out as a headline stands out. How? Use repetition. Repetition for emphasis. Yet be warned! Just as a sign that is all headlines is confusing a preacher who thumps his fist and hammers home every line tires his audience. Just as a beautiful symphony builds up to memorable highlight, you must craft your words to add to explain and illuminate the point you are making.
Focus on the point you want your audience to remember and highlight it with laser like intensity. In addition to being a memory aid, repetition helps your audience understand your ideas clearly and know what to do with them.
But How?
Immediately restate an important point when it is made or after you have developed a main idea.
After you have had an important conversation restate the point: "The main point of our conversation that I hope you remember is...."
Sometimes we sense that our audience is not grasping our theme. It is at this point we need to emphasize, re-explain or reiterate the point, perhaps using different word, or even a different illustration.
In the case of sales, how your product can serve the customer’s needs must constantly emphasized. This requires you know the customer and get to know what (s)he needs. Perhaps you will need to tailor your product to his requirements, fine. Yet for the sale to go through he must know about it!
A lecture is not a report to be read blandly without regard to your audience. Rather, a talk is a projection of your personality and your ideas and life out to others. Like any relationship, it is not one sided.
How you develop your theme and newer questions will determine if your audience will remain interested and remember your main point.
Perhaps on stating your topic you might use short statements to outline the main points in your introduction, providing an overview of the questions answered and problems you will solve. You may even state how many main points will be discussed and number them. Once each point is covered, restate it and at the conclusion lie all these points into a unified whole. Explain how they tie together, both in the linking of sub points one to the next and again at the conclusion.
An effective conclusion will be expanded elsewhere; however, your conclusion must tie together your points into a single theme that your audience is to remember. You must not only be sure your audience knows your point, but that they know what you want them to do with the material.
You want your listener to act on your advice, so emphasize it!