Keeping Audience on Edge of their Seat

One of the most valuable parts of the recentDistrict 80 Toastmasters Annual Convention held in Hong Kong from 18 to 20 May 2007 was Craig Valentine's Keynote address plus his seminar on "How to Keep your Audiences on the Edge of Their Seats".

Despite being the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking, Craig sought out Patricia Fripp, one of the top speaking coaches in the USA, and got coaching from her on his presentation skills even after he was crowned World Champion.

Simply amazing.

There I was, sitting amid 500 participants made up of toastmasters from Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand and from neighbouring Asean countries. In the comfortable grey seats of the Hong Kong Convention Centre, listening attentively to Craig Valentine, arguably one of the best speakers I have ever heard in my life.

Craig's 3 step method how to keep our audiences on the edge of their seats comprises of the following:

1. Breathe Life into your Speech
2. Bring your Audience to You
3. Build a Message that Sticks

It sounds easy but that's what the professionals do well, simple things but he does it inordinately well!

1) Breathe Life into your Speech
The steps here are nothing magical but it works. First, tell a story and make a point. It's as simple as that but yet it's not that simple?

Sounds paradoxical?

When we tell the story we also need to paint the scene in the mind's eye of the audience. People remember what they saw in their mind. It's not what they see visually through their eyes but what is described to them in vivid detail in their mind's eye. For example, the scene, the sounds, the taste, the texture and feelings all come into play. Make it come alive for the audience.

2) Bring your Audience to You
Many speeches fail to connect with the audiences because the speech is about I, me, myself, the speaker. The audience is selfish, they want to know, "What's in it for me?" To answer that, Craig shared how we can:

• tap and transport
• search for similarities
• show our failures and flaws

3) Build a Message that Sticks
The way we can do this is to be as specific as we can in painting the scene in our audience's mind. The use of foundational phrases also help because it summarises in a apt phrase the point the speaker wants to make. E.g. What got you here can't get you there was used by Craig to illustrate how we all can improve beyond our current level. Our past achievements have gotten us so far, but to move even further up we need to have more commitment, more drive and more willpower to do it.

It's not the same for you to read what I told you compared to the actual experience listening to Craig Valentine up-close and personal. He is a very tall gentlemen as you can see from this picture and has a great sense of humour. He uses his body language very effectively because no gesture is wasted, and it is all scripted yet it flow so naturally during his speech. Indeed, when you see a World Champion in action, the quality and ability shines through.

This was my first toastmasters annual convention but it won't be my last. I want to attend more conventions in the future, because if I want to be the best, I have to learn from the best!