Giving a Speech is Simply a Type of Conversation

Dateline: October 30, 2015

Welcome to our Friday WRAP – one thought-provoking idea to think about over the weekend.

One of my favorite people, Dr. Nick Morgan, is also an extraordinary speech coach who writes a very interesting blog, published on his Public Words website, for anyone who speaks publicly, or even attends speeches.  Recently, Nick wrote a blog about How to Prepare for a Speech You’re Worried About.  In it he describes some anxiety he was feeling before a series of speeches he was giving and he shares how he prepared for them.  It’s a blog worth reviewing for anyone giving a talk to a group of people as Nick’s recommendations are both insightful and valuable.  But what struck me was his concluding thought about how, after the speeches, he had a line of audience members who wanted to continue the conversation.  Nick writes,

…I had long lines of people afterwards greeting me and asking follow up questions. That’s the simple test of success for a speech – does the audience want to continue the conversation? If they do, then the presentation was heard, and the audience reached – the only reason to give a speech, after all.

When you give a talk, how do you make it a conversation with your audience? How do you judge the success of a speech?

That’s a WRAP!  Have a great weekend!

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