Stuck on how to craft some clever opening lines for your next speech?
Try making it personal. Start with a story.
This is how I engaged my audience last week with a speech about speech giving — tips on how to “woo, win and wow!! your next audience”:
I’ll never forget the advice I got decades ago from one of my crusty old journalism professors during my first newspaper reporting course at The Ohio State University.
“Check your ego at the door!” he thundered at us – a roomful of byline-hungry college freshmen, all formerly decorated editors of our respective high school newspapers.
“Check your ego at the door because it’s not about you. It’s never about you. It’s about them. Your readers. Those people who are going to sit down with their newspaper and their morning cup of coffee and read every single word you write.”
And he was right. It’s not about us. It’s about them.
And the same holds true for us as speakers.
It’s never about us. It’s always about them. Our audience.
But funny how so many speakers forget this.
All caught up in a tizzy over being asked to be the “keynote speaker,” they make their speeches all about me, me, me. My experiences. My travels. My family. My work. My career. My adventures. My blah, blah, blah.
They make their speeches all about me, me, me and forget about you, you, you – the only ones who matter. The audience.
So today I’m going to borrow a phrase from my dear professor – check your ego at the door – and clearly demonstrate four key ways to woo, win and wow!! your audience the next time you’re asked to speak. …
