Is Your Presentation an I-Sore™?

What is the most important word in a presentation? Listen to most speeches, and the words 'I,' 'me,' or a derivation of those two is the most frequent word you will hear. Most people have learned the bad habit of talking all about themselves. When this happens, they are inadvertently dis-connecting from their audience. Their presentation is an I-Sore™.

What is an I-Sore™? The following speech opening should give you a clue...

“Good afternoon. I want to tell you about my trip to the Western United States. I had an amazing experience, as I saw incredible places like Mt Rushmore in South Dakota, I experienced the Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, and I saw the incredible Grand Canyon in Arizona. I wish you could have been with me.”

The information in this speech may be interesting, but, notice how many times a form of the words ‘I’ or ‘me’’ was used – 8 times. Notice that the word 'you' was mentioned twice. Does this make you feel like you are a part of the speaker’s experience, or are you just a distant observer?

If you haven’t yet figured out the most important word in a presentation, it’s… YOU. When you focus on the audience, and not yourself, you increase the odds of people being engaged in your talk. Consider this alternate version of the speech opening you just read…

“You’re about to go on the most amazing vacation of your life. During the next 45 minutes, you will gaze upon one of the greatest man-made creations in the world – Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota; you will feel the power of Mother Nature as you stand near the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park, and you will experience the grandeur of the Grand Canyon in Arizona."

Can you see the difference? Can you feel the difference? Each opening essentially conveyed the same information, but they had a very different emotional impact, didn’t they? In the second example, the word ‘you’ or a version of it was used 6 times. It's the same information, but with one simple change from the words ‘I' or 'me’ to the word ‘you’ the speech has a vastly different impact on you, doesn't it?

This concept is referred to as the I/You ratio by speaker Patricia Fripp. Is there a hard-and-fast rule for this ratio? Ideally, you'll use a form of 'you' at least four times for every one 'I' or 'me.'

To avoid making your speech an I-Sore™review your presentations and determine how you can replace 'I' or 'me' with ‘you’ or ‘your’. By doing so, your audience will be more likely to enter your world and you will have created an experience that will leave them talking about you and your message long after you speak.

(It's always good to practice what you preach!)