Remembering My Words
- 1. Presentation Inspiration KineticFuture: Leadership Communications Coaching Remembering My Words David Cameron was fighting for his political career last week. His speech at the party conference was a make or break moment. Love him or hate him he certainly managed to rise to the occasion. And he spoke without reading a speech which was a pretty brave thing to do considering that he was setting out 'on the record' policy as well as his vision. He simply had some reminder notes on a table behind him which he referred to during the clapping after each key segment of the speech. But quite clearly he had rehearsed to within an inch of his life. Presenting without scripts is the norm for day to day presentations. And many of you have asked just how do you remember your words? Particularly if you have not written the presentation yourself. So here is a methodology to help you prepare. It will also help you leave your written speech behind. Preparation 1. Get your head clear - it's not Shakespeare. No one in the audience is going to know that you've missed a vital passage. So don't get fussed if you forget. 2. Know your key points - work out what you must communicate. Insist on being briefed on the key points if you've not written the thing. 3. Visual aids - Unlike David Cameron you'll probably be using some kind of visual aid like PowerPoint. Write your slides so they give you a key word or visual prompt. Remembering The Words Everyone has their own way of doing this. Try this for size - see if it works for you. 1. Write a basic structure - a quick guide of what you want to say in a logical order. (Use the KineticFuture anatomy if you have it). 2. Talk to yourself - get the words flowing, particularly the intro. Get your passion up and get a natural flow to your argument. Change your approach if you need to. (I do this walking the dog!) 3. Now, write it down as you talk it - I'll do this for a very important presentation but not for something smaller… Be natural. Write as you talk. 4. Identify the key points - Highlight the key points in yellow in each section. Or write down key points if you haven't written a rough script. 5. Find one word - From the highlights identify one trigger word. You should now have a piece of paper with a speaker plan - probably ten words, numbered. If there is a specific figure you must remember accurately or a prop you must use - put that under the key word. Make those trigger words big - but on no more than one piece of thick paper. 6. Rehearse Standing - Have your speaker plan in front of you. (and your slides if you are using them) Practice your intro over and over. Eventually you will find that you can boil down your presentation into 4 key words. Write those down on a thick piece of paper. You can put these on the table in front of you when you present as a comfort prop but do not hold them. If you've rehearsed you'll not need them.