Next Level communicators always use a road map when putting their messages together.
Next Level communicators always use a road map when putting their messages together.
Recently, one of my sons just gave his first talk to a group of middle school students, and he asked me to give him some tips on how to put a message together (I have a few thoughts!). So we sat out on our back porch, and talked shop for about a half hour. You may be wondering what do I say to a new communicator who is trying to get their bearings? One of the first things I do is to give them a basic road map or guide in putting their message together.
Every message I give covers four things in this order, and only four:
An attention grabbing introduction (Am I going to listen?)
A connection to the heart (Why should I listen?)
Inspirational information (What do you want me to know?)
A persuasive call to action (What do I need to do?)
That’s it.
Now I’m going to keep this short, but stay tuned, because I’m going to offer a class in the coming months for us to get time together to unpack this road map, but for now, here’s the basics:
Introductions:
The opening ninety seconds of your talk is the most important part of your message. I know. I know. You’re thinking it’s not. What you will say in the body or the end of the presentation is the most important. It’s not. Communications experts say our audience gives us about ninety seconds to two and a half minutes before they decide whether they will engage you or their phones, or some other distraction. So if we don’t grab them right away, they won’t pay enough attention to the big ask we are going to make later on.
Felt Need:
While introductions should answer the question, “Am I going to listen,” the next question we have to immediately answer is, “Why should I listen?”. This is where we have to move quickly from their hears to their hearts, showing how what we are going to talk about addresses their felt needs.
Inspirational Information:
Here we are getting to the body, the guts of your presentation, where you are supplying information to the audience in ways that inspire them. Each of your points should move from explanation (make the point) to illustration (show the point) to application (show the person in the point).
Conclusions:
Finally, everything should build to the big ask. What exactly do you want your audience to do with the information you are giving them? Bring them to a point of decision. Don’t be shy. Create a moment where they respond. Don’t look for applause, look to move them in a given direction.
What I’m Reading:
Mark Twain, by Ron Chernow. But buy at your own risk…it’s well north of a thousand pages!
We are getting close! If you haven’t preordered my new book, Grace to Overcome, hurry up. It comes out August 19th, and it’s filled with stories which will help you grow as a communicator.
