Making a powerful point: What is your most important message?
Wednesday: Speak on the Shoulders of Giants
Every presentation or speech has a central message.
No matter how many topics you cover within the time given, everything has to revolve around that theme or idea, as this will determine the direction of your whole speech.
By now I’ve had my fair share of listening to impactful presentations. Many of the messages I heard from those presentations still resonate in my mind.
As an independent professional, enhancing your public speaking skills is crucial, and can give you an edge in the industry you’re in.
Keep reading to learn how you can convey your central point to your audience in the simplest way possible.
I hope you find this week’s topic useful as you establish the main message of your presentation.
Miles Everson
CEO, MBO Partners
Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute
Speak on the Shoulders of Giants
One of the main goals of a good speech is to deliver an impactful message.
Whether it be a short or lengthy statement, it’s crucial that your audience would take away an important lesson from it and help them understand it much better.
In fact, you must already have a message in mind before even writing everything down.
This part is called your POWER POINT.
A speech or presentation may be a well of information for people listening to it. But without a central theme or message to tie it all together, it becomes incoherent.
Not to be mistaken as a Powerpoint presentation, adding a POWER POINT gives more clarity.
This helps put all of your ideas together, allowing you to structure your content around it. This will prevent you from veering off to different topics or discussions and help you have a more focused presentation.
While stating the message or key point might sound simple, it’s a process that can be challenging. You want to make sure that what you present as a whole coincides with the main point. As stated by award-winning author and communication expert, Diana Booher:
“If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour.”
To help you out, here are some effective tips:
Make it simple – While there are times when a presentation would introduce complex ideas and concepts to the audience, the best way for people to remember your message or theme is by keeping it simple and straight to the point.
Introduce it at the beginning – A poorly written and executed speech tends to deliver the key message late, which can leave the audience confused as to what the point is. Always make sure that you introduce your POWER POINT at the beginning.
You can even use this as a part of your Power Opener, giving the audience a striking and meaningful message from the beginning.
You can also begin with a relevant anecdote, which is another effective way to lead your audience to your main point and get their attention.
Stop, think, and plan – The most effective way for you to come up with your message is by following this procedure. Before writing your speech, take a pause and think about what you want to convey to your audience. Once you decide on what your message is, you can plan out the rest smoothly.
Applying these tips will ensure that you deliver a clear and consistent message that people can understand.
There are many speeches that you can take inspiration from and help establish your message.
A good example is Angela Lee Duckworth’s Grit: Power of Passion and Perseverance, which is about how hard work and dedication are major factors in excellence.
In her short speech, she was able to deliver the message at the beginning with the help of relatable anecdotes, establishing the POWER POINT.
“In all those very different contexts, one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. And it wasn’t social intelligence. It wasn’t good looks, physical health, and it wasn’t IQ. It was grit.”
The overall message was easy to understand yet very impactful—exactly how it should be. This also helped her introduce concepts related to her message such as the Growth Mindset, which strengthens her point much further.
Every good speech leaves a significant impression. Whether it be introducing a new idea or useful knowledge, it provides a wealth of content and information that makes it memorable.
By adding a POWER POINT, you can provide one main idea or theme that you would gravitate towards, giving a clear message that your audience would remember and lessons they can take away from.
Hope you’ve found this week’s public speaking tip interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Wednesday’s Speak on the Shoulders of Giants!
