This Moved Me

Articulating clearly the point of your talk is one of the most difficult areas for speakers to master. It is not uncommon to start your talk and pretty soon you have five talks within one actual talk! Sometimes the idea we are trying to articulate is complicated - our job is to make it easy for our audience. Keeping the audience in mind when narrowing the point of your talk is essential. As speakers, we are meaning makers. We are trying to convey a new idea and bring meaning to that, which is why delivering it in a simple way is crucial. To effectively do this, the point of your talk must be these three things: Clear Meaningful Intriguing Now, here is the challenge! I believe that in order to achieve an effective talk, you should be able to pass the 7/7 test! You should be able to articulate the point of your talk in 7 seconds so that a 7-year-old can understand it.

Want to become a Thought Leader? Of course you do! Tony Loyd - raido host, author, speaker and thought leader! - moves the world with his unique perspective on how to do well and do good at the same time. Like many of us may have felt at some point in our lives, Tony needed a change in his life. He decided to take the leap to go do what his heart was longing for - mentor others on how to live a life where profit and purpose are intertwined. Through Tony’s journey, he learned an important lesson that would ultimately shape the speaker and thought leader he is today. He began to understand what it means to show up as your authentic self when you speak. To bring every piece of your self to your talk in order to serve your audience in the way they need. Although this wasn’t easy at first, it helped Tony to create talks that move the world and to help others to do the same.

A few weeks ago I got a text message from one of my speakers who needed a little encouragement before jumping up on stage. And I am always honored to be able to do the encouraging. It's not a small thing, and it's not fluffy. It is essential, and empowering! So - Who is your cheerleader?

Movers, this episode is all about something every speaker should aim to master in their talks. My friend Scott reached out and asked me, “I wanna get better at being a storyteller with my talks, any recommendations?” So, I came up with my top five recommendations for becoming a master at the art of storytelling!

Olivia Mitchell - Presentation Trainer, Speaker, Introvert - aims to redefine the expectations of speaking. Living in New Zealand, Olivia uses her professional presenting skills to speak up about what she is passionate about. Addressing real-world needs, Olivia sets out to use her voice to make a difference while helping others do the same. All of this - as an introvert. Olivia dedicates her craft to develop ways in which other introverts, like herself, can be just as confident and effective public speakers. She lives by the notion that anyone can speak with confidence despite the obstacles.

Recently, the National Speech and Debate tournament took place in Florida. I have been reflecting on when I had the opportunity to participate in this very tournament during my high school speech days - and I won! I was awarded the National Championship of Original Oratory. My coaches were incredible during this experience and helped so much! When reflecting on this time, I had the chance to truly realize how crucial this moment was to the path that led me to where I am today. I learned so much from speech and how special it really is. With that being said, I dedicated this episode as an ode to the high school sport that shaped who I am today - speech!

Chuck Schumer’s repetition of his stump graduation speech was caught on tape… many, many times!… and put together, in one hilarious montage on John Oliver’s show Last Week Tonight. (ps, I love this show - so smart and so funny) When I saw this video… I laughed, and then I cringed… Why? Because let’s be honest: we repeat our content. Of course we do! I And it’s necessary for a few reasons. So, what do we do? How do we repeat our content without being a fake (and being Chuck Schumer)?

Mel Burt-Gracik - Management Consultant, Career Transition Coach, Speaker- is authentically herself. Mel helps managers lead their teams better in the work environment. Her goal is to help her clients say, “I look forward to coming to work everyday.” Mel aims to create psychological safety at work in a way where individuals emotional needs are not just recognized - they are embraced. She knows first hand how failure is not a bad thing - it is just another stepping stone on the pathway to success. Ditching perfection, Mel chooses to always own who she is which ultimately shines through her craft.

In the last week, I’ve had several conversations with you about that moment when I’m asking you to stand up and give it a go… the moment when we’re trying this all on for size. All the words we’ve fussed over, the ideas we’ve thoughtfully and painstakingly clarified - dug deeper to to get it ‘just right’ - and then we’re at the moment where we’re putting it to the test. Taking it from theory to practice. And it feels like a big moment.    Just this week I’ve heard things like:  I’m feeling really vulnerable I’m nervous What if I hate this?  Ugh! I hate this!   And I know you don’t hate what we’ve created; you are simply afraid this work is not going to work.    I get it.    There’s no way to get to the other side without going through. And to get through, we have to get uncomfortable.    We have to… And I’m guessing you’ve heard this before… you have let go of the perfect presentation - the idea that’s in our heads and that we imagine for ourselves and that is making taking this step so darn hard. 

A little note to you, my un-speakers…    So, to start… an un-speaker? What is that?    An un-speaker is someone who might not define themselves as a speaker, and yet you speak! You are a change-maker - idea-driven, audience-focused, battle with wondering whether or not you’re ‘doing it right’, want to make an impact and understand that to be transformational, you must yourself transform at some level. You speak without being one of ‘those’ speakers…(a bore, a chore, a perfectly perfect snore). A speaker who breaks the mold, who rejects the myths of what speaking is or what we think it should be, who is going for - above all - AUTHENTICITY, CONNECTION and COURAGE.    If that’s you. Then guess what? You’re an un-speaker!

Tamsen Webster - speaker, presentation strategist, TEDX producer, messaging guru - brings her delightful spark to our conversation about how to not just get your audience to listen... but how to get them to CHANGE.

You have a vision of where you want to go... but how do you get there? Turns out, the tumble down into the canyon is the best way to the other side.

Matt Abrahams is a passionate, collaborative and innovative educator, author, and coach. He is a lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business where he teaches two very popular classes in Strategic Communication and Effective Virtual Presenting. Additionally, Matt is a professor of communication at De Anza College and an adjunct faculty member for Stanford University’s Continuing Education Program. Also, Matt coaches entrepreneurs from around the world on pitching their ideas as part of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business’s Ignite Program. Matt is especially interested in applying communication knowledge to real-world issues. In service of this goal, he published Speaking Up Without Freaking Out, a book written to help people present and communicate in a more confident, connected, and compelling manner. On the show, Matt and I talk about some key strategies to calm your body down so you can speak with more confidence and clarity - a need for ALL of us, not just the newbies or introverts. No

Speakers! If you speak at events - or pull together events - or attend events! - then you know that HOW an event comes together is really important. And it's way more complicated than most people think... I'm currently in Milwaukee doing a fundraising event with an awesome team of people who have consistently created and produced some of the most beautiful, stunning and powerful events I've ever had the privilege of being a part of. And so I've invited these 'all-star' event people into the conversation with me today about how to pull off a spectacular event program! Meet: Todd Hansen - producer and performer - who knows the ins and outs of doing this work well. And Sarah Gillund, communications guru - who oversees the consistent and beautiful messages that the audience experiences from the first moment to the last. (We're not talking table centerpieces. Just not my expertise, and I happily hand off front-of-house stuff to someone else) as much as we're talking about what happens 'on stage.') A good event can

AmyK Hutchens is a speaker, teacher, trainer, entrepreneur and business strategist - and spends most of her year traveling around the globe speaking about leading a more productive and profitable life. She's a business and life coach whose job is to teach from the stage! She's got dozens of impressive accolades that clearly state she is a powerhouse - both on and off the stage. But I love that AmyK came to me from a referral from my friend and guest here on This Moved Me, Jenny Evans. Jenny insisted that AmyK would be great - and she was! We talked about how we as leaders can't just shove the message we think our audience NEEDS down their throats; no, we have to wrap that needed message in what they want:

You wrote a shitty first draft. Congrats! Then you walked away. AWESOME! Now... now what? What do we do?   You've still got the kitchen sink, and it's all swirly-whirly and NOT CLEAR. How do we get a little closer to CLEAR??   Here's what you do:    

You've written a "shitty first draft" of your presentation. Congratulations! That's huge.   But now what?   Tune in for Part Two of this three part series to figure out how to jump-start your talk with content that resonates, engages and is authentically grounded in your story. 

How do you write the best (worst) first draft of your presentation? Along with being a theater major in college, I was also an English major. I loved loved loved being on stage (I know), but I also loved to write. Little did I know I was basically creating for myself the building blocks of my life now. All I knew then was that I loved them both and didn’t want to choose. (Funny how I rejected the idea of being a communications major. Nope, didn’t want that.) Anyway - I remember sitting in what was infamously known as being a really difficult writing class with Sister Mara. (It was a small liberal arts catholic college.) Sister Mara was a really tough grader - but a brilliant mentor and guide. The assignment was to come up with a metaphor for the process of writing… You guys - I LOVE METAPHORS! They are the best... so meaty, and you can create and assign so much meaning in them… and to me, that’s the best kind of meaning to find… in layers of other things, because it helps us FEEL those ideas more? - ya know?

Today I want to talk with you about audience. How do we prepare our content fora  particular audience?   It means that you are preparing a talk for a particular audience… and there are a few questions that I like to ask myself about my audience so make sure that it resonates..   That is the goal… When our content resonates - it connects. And that’s the whole point!   Resonance and connection is what we’re going for.   Our audience at its very core needs to believe that we know and understand what they’re going through, what they’re struggling with, why there there…   And then we need to have a clear understanding about how we in parciutlar can ease their way a little bit.   What is the thing that you can offer to them that attends to one of the things they’re struggling with.     We’r looking for the venn diagram of audience and speakers- where they and you you connect.   It has nothing to do with being similar - you don NOT have to be the same person or have the same experience in ANY WAY - In fact, if you'r

John Bucher – a very difficult to define man of many talents (and he likes it that way) – spoke at the STORY Gathering in 2017, where I saw him share his passionate voice about story and myth. What was so great about that whole thing was that even BEFORE I saw him speak, he had volunteered to be my guinea pig speaker at my live coaching workshop. I mean… who does that? Believe me – that's a rare thing, to vulnerably walk into that space with a coach you've just met. Well, movers, that act connected me and John for life! What l learned about John from there is that that's just who he is: an uber-smart academic who digs into the biggest ideas that we humans want to tackle, and brings them to his audience in meaningful ways. Aside from being a speaker, he's an author, podcast host, and teacher… and probably a dozen other things. Passion is his super-power. And in today's episode we talked about all the big ideas… like you do when you're talking with John Bucher…. Enjoy!