Okay, so you've isolated in one sentence what it is you want your audience to do. Now comes the next step. You've got to ask yourself, what is going to motivate your audience to actually do what you want them to do. So you got to ask yourself out of every fact every message, every number, what's going to motivate them the most. And I would suggest you write it all down or type it up. In bullet points, messages, one after another after another, you might have 2030 4050, even 100.
But here's the catch. I need you to put them in priority. And I need you to come up with just the top five, all the others, throw them in the trash can or keep them as a separate document, a PowerPoint slide backup material, a web page. You can always give that to anyone you're presenting to in an email, as a handout as a PDF. But don't stand up and deliver some big data dump. It's simply not effective.
So much of being a good speaker is not about, oh, what do I do with my hands? Or I didn't say, or it's not about looking and sounding professional, whatever that means. It's about using judgment and asking yourself, what does my audience really need to know? What do they want to know and need to know they don't have to know everything you know, or they'd have your job. So you've got to really use judgment here. And that's what distinguishes good speakers from bad speakers, even if they're not beginners.
There are a lot of speakers who have been speaking their whole life. think of themselves as comfortable, confident, professional, but they're boring as all get out. No one remembers anything they're talking about. So the easiest way to get over that initial hump of rank beginner distinguish yourself and frankly be a lot better than most people. narrow your messages down to your top five. Why do I say that?
Well, for 30 years, I've trained executives, politicians, scientists, doctors all over the world. And I always ask them in the in person trainings. Think of the best speaker you've seen in the last year, five years, maybe ever. And what do you remember? So I'll ask Jim and Jim Sally, everybody in my industry is boring. I don't remember anything.
I'll ask Sally. Who do you remember? Well, TJ, there was this one woman two years ago, and I remember this one message and we'll go around the room. And typically it's one two point sometimes zero, occasionally three, every three months or so four points. once every six months. I'll have somebody remember five ideas from them.
The best speaker they've ever seen in their entire life. In all the years I've asked that question I've never yet heard anyone. Remember more than five ideas. So if you want to be not just a beginner speaker, but a really good speaker, narrow your messages down to your top five. Now this is going to be hard, because you're going to feel this temptation. Wow, I'm a beginner and I don't want anyone to think I'm stupid.
So I don't want to leave anything out. So let me talk quickly and cover everything and I'll cover my you know what, that's a temptation. And I'm begging you don't go there. Instead, narrow the focus down to your top five ideas that I'd like you to post those, write those in the discussion section right now.