Need to Know Versus Nice to Know

One of the most challenging parts of preparing a speech is deciding what to include. You are an expert on the topic and thus you want to tell the audience everything you know, but you only have 20 minutes in which to speak! One way of limiting your topic is to consider what would be nice for the audience to know as opposed to what the audience needs to know on your subject.

A history of your topic would be nice to know but is probably not needed. Some history may be necessary for clarity, but you probably don’t need to go back to the very beginning. Perhaps what has happened in the past year or last two seasons is enough to give the audience the context.

Slides about your topic or slides which show what you are talking about in picture or graph form are nice but rarely necessary to get your point across in a 20-minute speech. Slides add entertainment and attention value, but may not be necessary when you have strong evidence and illustrative material to make your point.

Talking about the weather, current events, or people in the audience may be rapport-building, but many times it is not necessary.  There are certain elements, however, that are needed.

What is needed is a clear point or two that offer new or relevant information for the audience to take away. People can’t remember much, so what is needed is a principle or two that will add to the information the audience members may already have on the topic. For example, in delivering a presentation on stage fright for a group of novice speakers, the principle I might want them to take with them is this: learn to control stage fright, not eliminate it. Perhaps a second might be that preparation is a key to controlling stage fright.

As the speaker, you also need adequate support for the principles you want the audience to remember. A research study showing the relationship between preparation and stage fright would supply strong support for my stage fright topic.

A third element that comes from these two points is the structure of the presentation. You need to have clear organization; thus a principle or point plus support is necessary.

Certainly there are other factors in determining what to include in a speech, but answering the question "What is needed in contrast to what is nice?" is a good way to utilize time well for an effective presentation.

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A Pleasant Look

A year ago The New Yorker magazine had an article about people who commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. About every two weeks someone jumps from the bridge. The article told of a jumper’s psychiatrist who was going through the person’s apartment after he jumped. He found a hand-written note left on his bureau. The note said, "I’m going to walk to the bridge. If one person smiles at me I will not jump."

I realize a pleasant look may not save a life, but it is a key to influencing others in a positive way. To establish the right image that will attract people, we must consistently show a pleasant look. Some of you may have had the experience of having a person start a conversation with you and then say, "I can tell this is a bad time.  I’ll come back later." It may have not been a bad time for you, but it may mean that you did not have a look that attracted people. The pleasant look is difficult if you have just finished a heated discussion about a serious issue that needs resolution. If there are problems at home, the pleasant look may seem impossible.

What can you do to consistently show a pleasant look in spite of circumstances around you? One technique is to practice different facial expressions in the mirror until you determine one that is pleasant. Then hold that expression for several seconds. Do that each morning to become conscious of demonstrating the right facial expression; you are developing a new habit and that takes time.

Secondly, at the beginning of the day, visualize a pleasant scene that will occur sometime that day or week and concentrate on it. When possible, think about it as you go about your daily routine. The scene might be eating out with your family or playing racquetball with a close friend. It could be a mountain stream where the solitude and beauty of nature bring you peace. Whenever an unpleasant thought comes to the forefront, seek to erase it with the positive image in your mind. A third method is to have a close friend remind you to change expression whenever he or she sees the frown or furrowed-brow look.

People want to talk to pleasant people. We look for the person on the street who is smiling. It is easy to talk to a person who is smiling. When a speaker is answering questions after a speech, the person with the pleasant look usually gets to ask the first question.

The pleasant look is a simple act, yet can have dramatic implications for our success in working with people.