Picked this great article up from Douglas Kruger. There’s some good stuff here.
Douglas Kruger is a professional speaker, presentation-skills trainer, and 5 x winner of the Southern African Championships for Public Speaking. He is the author of three books, including 50 Ways to Become a Better Speaker. See him in action, or review his books and articles, at: www.douglaskruger.co.za, email him at: kruger@compute.co.za or follow him on facebook or Twitter: @DouglasKruger.
The 5 Rapid-Fire Facts Technique for Speakers
Stories are the stuff of persuasion. Experienced communicators hoard good ones like gems. Carefully crafted, they can engage interest, illustrate ideas and elevate important points. They are the nutrition that makes a presentation worth absorbing.
If you already use the unique power of stories in your speeches, here is a simple device that you can add to your storytelling technique, to make those once-upon-a-time moments even more engaging.
5 Rapid-Fire Facts:
During your preparation phase, research and memorise 5 quick facts for the opening of your story. Then, when you stand before your audience, begin the story by delivering those facts in an off-hand, rapid-fire way; as though you are simply tossing out a few, arbitrary nuggets of gold. Then proceed into the body of your story.
This technique achieves a number of things:
• It creates the illusion that you are an expert on that particular topic; a passionately gesticulating encyclopaedia; thus enhancing your perceived credibility
• It changes the rhythm of your delivery, speeding you up for a moment, in order to add contrast to your pace
• It helps from a structural perspective. Because you deliver your 5 facts in a rapid-fire fashion, you set the scene for your story incredibly quickly and avoid rambling.
Practical Example:
In one of my motivational presentations, How to Position Yourself as an Industry Expert, I use the story of the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster to illustrate a point about communication errors. The story had always worked well in delivery, but when I introduced the 5 Rapid-Fire Facts technique in the introduction, it raised the bar dramatically. …And all it took was two minutes of online research.
The facts that I used were:
• The shuttle broke apart 73 seconds into its flight
• It disintegrated over the Atlantic ocean, off the coast of Florida
• The disaster was blamed on a faulty O-ring
• 7 people lost their lives; 5 men and two women
• While analyzing the wreckage, they discovered that certain switches had been moved from their launch position. The switches were protected with locks and had to have been unlocked by the crew. This proves they were fighting to restore power to their section of the craft, even after the break-up; struggling to save their own lives.
These quick facts (the last one highly emotive), set the scene very swiftly. They create the impression of a great depth of knowledge. Memorising them was easy and delivering all 5 of them requires less than a minute; 60 seconds invested in enhancing the perception of my expertise. Then I progressed to my central point.
It works for characters too
I use this technique when introducing characters as well. To illustrate a point about personal discipline, I refer to the average writing day of bestselling author Stephen King. To introduce him, I throw out these 5 rapid-fire facts:
• Stephen King is 65 years old
• He has written and published over 50 novels
• He lives in Bangor, Maine
• Every one of his novels has topped the New York Times bestseller list
• If you enjoyed the original movie version of It, starring Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown, you’ll be happy to learn that there are plans underway to re-make it!
…Then I proceed to make my point, describing Stephen King’s working week, in order to illustrate my idea about personal discipline. The effect is that I appear to be an expert on this particular personality.
The next time you use a story to illustrate a point, or allude to a key person, try opening that segment with the 5 Rapid-Fire Facts technique. Learn your 5 facts so well that you can rattle them off verbatim. Then, don’t be surprised when they accuse you of having an amazing body of general knowledge!
Jacques de Villiers is a lapsed motivational speaker who tries to learn something new every day. This article was my one new thing today.
Jacques is busy training 10 people in Bellville on Internet Marketing. I'll be flying back to Joburg at 15h15.
The business generator, Jacques de Villiers specialises in marketing and sales.
Check out a business speech I wrote for a client on 15 October 2009.
If you’ve ever died of boredom watching someone present (or have killed someone with your boring presentation), watch this slide show.
We had an outstanding Internet marketing workshop at Baobab Conference Centre, Midrand on 30 October. I certainly think that it was an eye-opener for the 7 delegates that attended. Thanks Anthony for bringing your team Platinum Planet team. Johan, it was good seeing you again and I’m glad that your Springs Estate Agency is going from strength to strength. Hey Marlene, I look forward to looking at your designs sometime from Anything Creative. Leon, I hope your property development website flies after this workshop.
Last, but not least, thanks to Trevor Ketler for letting me use Baobab Conference Centre … I found it to be outstanding.
On 9 October Jacques de Villiers ran a "Stealth Marketing" session for entrepreneurs at an ABSA networking breakfast in Centurion. Approximately 50 entrepreneurs attended.
ABSA has a networking breakfast approximately every quarter to help its members increase their business. So far they’ve had Web Marketing by Adolph Kaestner, How to Persuade Anybody to do Almost Anything by Jacques.
The networking sessions are held throughout the country – Jacques has already presented for ABSA in Centurion, Pretoria North and Durban.
Send me an email here to request marketing resources.
Jacques’s latest offering is a half-day Internet marketing session called GoogleJuice.
Michelle Kerrigan of Cabanga asked me to do a 45-minute keynote address to some of her clients on 21 August. She got such a good response to her mailer, that I had to run 3 sessions on the day.
I gave my signature keynote address How To Persuade Anybody to do Almost Anything on the day.
I enjoyed Dave Abbott (Abbott and Crabb fame) who entertained us with some tremendous music.
We both certainly sang for our supper as there were close on 200 guests spread over the three events.
I’d just like to say a big thank you to Michelle for introducing me to her clients and for giving me an opportunity to strut my stuff to them.
Check out what Cabanga Conference Centre has to offer you on www.cabanga.co.za
I recently trained five people on behalf of Frontfoot at Benvenuto in Keland, Johannesburg. This is the 6th Architecture of Selling course I’ve run for Frontfoot’s clients.
IIR Training requested Jacques de Villiers to train on negotiation skills. Jacques trained five delegates on 9-10 May at IIR’s offices in Rosebank.
It was an intense but thoroughly rewarding session. The delegates came out with a clearer understanding and a plan of action for negotiating a win-win solution.
Thanks for being such a brilliant audience: Rika, Anke, Tina, Mariska, Khati
Also, thanks to Varsha Nandkumar, course development manager, IIR for entrusting me to undertake the training.
Durban saw Jacques de Villiers in action with his Science of Success seminar on 25 April 2007. The event was held at the Royal Natal Yacht Club, Victoria Embankment. 10 people attended the seminar.
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