The focus of her article — her TEDGlobal 2009 talk — is now available on video. Watching it will be the best seven minutes of your day. Click here to watch it.

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

End your speech with an attitude, not a platitude.

Instead of firing off a perfunctory “thank you,” consider launching fireworks of final passionate thoughts from the podium.

With the flair of a fireworks finale, you’ll trigger spontaneous applause to a well-rehearsed, well-timed, and well-executed performance — a performance that reflects all the anticipation of a logger’s cry: Timbeerrrrrrrrrrr!

This article shows you how to close your speech with a bang.

Call Attention to the Close of Your Speech

Contrary to the prevailing practice of too many politicians and business and community leaders, the most influential speakers don’t end their speeches with a perfunctory and mundane “Thank you.” That’s too easy. And too lazy.

It takes creative thinking and a compelling delivery to end your speech with a mighty climax that relegates the perfunctory “thank you” as superfluous. No wonder that only seven of the 217 speeches listed in William Safire’s anthology Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History conclude with “thank you.”

Examples of How to End a Speech

Consider these examples of resounding speech conclusions from Patrick Henry, William Jennings Bryant and Winston Churchill. You can learn from these to spark your creative energy and capture the spirit of ending with a bang.

On the brink of the American Revolution, the colonists were debating the war. Patrick Henry concluded a stirring speech on March 23, 1775 with this:

“Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery. Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take but as for me give me liberty or give me death.”

At the Democratic National Convention in 1896, William Jennings Bryan concluded his stirring speech against the gold standard in national currency with the words that have become the title of his speech:

“Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests and toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns: you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”

In the face of a German threat of an invasion upon England in World War II, Winston Churchill on June 18, 1940 called upon all of the British to brace themselves. He concluded his speech with the words that have become the title of the speech:

“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty and so bear ourselves that if the British Commonwealth and Empire lasts for thousands of years, men will say: ‘This was their finest hour.’”

End Your Speech on a High Note

Leading speakers end their speeches like the opera star—on a high note, vocally and intellectually. Just as the comedian should leave ‘em laughing, the speaker should leave ‘em thinking. Last words linger. Last words crystallize your thoughts, galvanize your message, and mobilize your audience.

Study the following 10 templates and adapt your speech to end your speech with a bang:

1. Bookend Close
2. Challenge Close
3. Echo Close
4. Repetitive Close
5. Title Close
6. Sing Song Close
7. Callback Close
8. Movie Close
9. Quotation Close
10. Third Party Close

#1 – Bookend Close

For a bookend speech closing, refer back to your opening anecdote or quote and say, “We have arrived, now, where we began.”

Then reiterate the message you want your audience to remember. This will achieve symmetry in the classic 3-part speech outline: Tell ‘em what you are going to tell ‘em; tell ‘em, then tell ‘em what you just told ‘em.’

#2 – Challenge Close

Challenge your audience to apply what you have told them in the speech.

If you were concluding a speech on the importance of taking action, you could say:

“Let’s turn from spectators into participants. Let’s recall the inspiring words of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt who said:

‘Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to remain with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.’

We have too much to do to sit on the sidelines. We need you to step out of the gray twilight into the bright sunshine so that we can all see the dawn of a new day.”

#3 – Echo Close

Focus on one word in a quotation and emphasize that word to echo your final point.

For example, consider the five echoes of the word “do” in this ending to a speech on the importance of getting involved in the education process:

“More than 450 years before the birth of Christ, Confucius said: ‘What I hear, I forget; what I see, I remember; what I do, I understand.’

Let’s do it together. We’ve heard what we have to do. We’ve seen what we need to do. Now is the time to do it, and, together, we can do it.”

#4 – Repetitive Close

Find a phrase and structure it in a repetitive format that strikes the cadence of a drummer, building to a crescendo ending of a motivational speech:

“Architects cannot renovate it.
Businesses cannot incorporate it.
Churches cannot inculcate it.
Developers cannot innovate it.
Engineers cannot calculate it.
Governments cannot legislate it.
Judges cannot adjudicate it.
Lawyers cannot litigate it.
Manufacturers cannot fabricate it.
Politicians cannot appropriate it.
Scientist cannot formulate it.
Technicians cannot generate it.
Only you can orchestrate it.”

#5 – Title Close

Give your speech a provocative title that encapsulates your message memorably. Then, use the title of your speech as your closing words to stir your audience to think more fully about what they just heard, reinforcing the title of the speech that you referenced earlier.

Hint: Try writing the ending of your speech first to better construct the title.

#6 – Sing Song Close

Ask the audience to repeat a phrase that you used several times in your speech.

Let say your phrase is: “Together, we can win.” You repeat that phrase over and over again. Then just before your close, you say: “I know that all of you are talented, all of you are driven. I know that none of us can do this alone, but (pause) Together (pause) we can (pause until the audience responds.)

#7 – Callback Close

Refer back to a story you told where some activity was not fully completed. Then pick up the story and close it around your theme.

For example:

“Remember those bubbles that four year old held so gently in his hands? Well now those same gentle hands are now poised skillfully around the hearts of hundreds of people. Today he is a heart surgeon.”

#8 – Movie Close

Make a reference to a well-known movie or book.

For example, in concluding a speech on the maturity of a product line and the need to leave the past behind and create new and different products, an executive concluded a speech with a reference to growing pangs. The speaker alluded to the final scene in the movie Summer of ‘42. The main character is Hermie. Now an adult he is reminiscing about his lost adolescence.

“ ‘Life is made up of small comings and goings. And for everything we take with us, there is something that we leave behind. In the summer of ’42, we raided the Coast Guard Station 4 times. We saw 5 movies. And we had 9 days of rain. Benji broke his watch. Oskie gave up the harmonica. And in a very special way, I lost Hermie, forever.’

So too this year, in a very special way, we have lost our old company in a very special way. Now we are moving on to a stronger, more mature company.”

#9 – Quotation Close

Use a famous quotation to harness the audience’s attention, much like turning on a spotlight.

For example, if you were concluding a speech on the importance of maintaining self confidence in the face of adversity, you could say:

“We have to be like the bird –the bird that author Victor Hugo one observed – the bird that pauses in its flight awhile, on boughs too light, – on a branch that is likely to break– feels that branch break, yet sings, knowing she hath wings.”

#10 – Third Party Close

Take the use of a quotation up a notch with the Third Party Close. Leverage the use of a quotation in context of your message. Use the premise of that quotation to frame your finale so that it serves as a launching pad to lift your message high for the audience to more fully appreciate.

If you were concluding a speech on the importance of embracing change, you could say:

Change has become a way of life to a better life. We have to recall the insight of President Abraham Lincoln, on the brink of Civil War and fighting the near 100-year long tradition of slavery in the United States dating back to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who owned slaves. Lincoln looked change directly in the eye and said:

“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate for the stormy present and future. As our circumstances are new, we must think anew and act anew.”

And so must we. We need to look at this old issue in a new way, not simply for today but to make our tomorrows more rewarding, more fulfilling, and more compelling because of the change we make today. With your help, we can think anew and act anew on the issue before us today.”

Your Speech Ending Challenge

May you think anew about ending your speeches. Try one of these 10 techniques and turn the podium into your personal fireworks platform.

Fire off spectacular ideas with blazing after thoughts. Light up your audience with insight. Fire your most poignant salvos in the fleeting seconds of your speech. And make sure your message resounds in your audience’s ears… with a bang!

Note: You may also be interested in Peter Jeff’s companion article: TEASE ‘em: 5 Ways to Start Your Speech.

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Peter Jeff has served an adjunct public speaking instructor at Grand Valley State University for the last 10 years. He is a former leadership development consultant with more than 20 years experience in corporate public relations. Mr. Jeff is also the author of a personal leadership book -- Get a Grip on Your Dream: 12 Ways to Squeeze More Success Out of Your Goals -- and can be reached at jeffp@gvsu.edu.

Defer the customary “nice-to-be-here” platitudes.

Direct your audience more into fawning than yawning over your speech opening. How?

Start your speech better by diving in! Instead of gingerly dipping your toes into the proverbial speaking pool, open with a splash! Pattern your platform performance after the TEASE opening which Saturday Night Live has made famous for more than 25 years.

Learning from Saturday Night Live to Start Your Speech

The opening of Saturday Night Live is much anticipated and always engaging. Consider the formula they use:

1. First, a “cold” open. There’s no warm up. No toes in the water. They just jump in with the opening skit (usually one of the most memorable of the night).
2. Then, following the catchy “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”, the host introduces herself and the musical guest, and sets the agenda for the show.

Can you apply this formula to start your speech?

First, TEASE your audience from the second you open your mouth. And open their eyes to something new, different, and even entertaining. Pique their interest. Immerse your audience into the action from the opening second with a verbal splash of cold water. With a powerful 30- to 60-second opening, your audience will be engaged to stay tuned for more.

Then, you can then formally introduce yourself, and give your audience an overview of your speech. It’s important they know up front why your speech is important to them.

Let’s examine those first thirty to sixty seconds. What’s a TEASE?

What is a TEASE Speech Opening?

TEASE is an acronym for five ways to gain and retain your audience’s attention:

• Testimonial
• Evidence
• Anecdote
• Statement
• Example

Example: How to Start a Speech About Speaking

Let’s say you wanted to design, develop, and deliver a speech on the importance of public speaking. Here are five TEASE techniques you might use:

1. Testimonial
   Cite the behavior of a celebrity and/or quote an influential person the audience will know of or respect.
2. Evidence
   On the impact of public speaking in your career success.
3. Anecdote
   Of someone benefiting directly from their public speaking expertise.
4. Statement
   On the significance of public speaking to the quality of life.
5. Example
   Of a person whose career really took off because of public speaking.

Let’s look at examples of each of these TEASE techniques for a great speech opening.

1. Start Your Speech With… a Testimonial

Cite the behavior of a celebrity and/or quote an influential person the audience will know of or respect.

“If all my possessions were taken away from me with one exception, I would choose the power of speech. For by it, I would regain all the rest of my possessions.” That’s what former Senator and Secretary of State Daniel Webster once observed of the significance of effective public speaking. Likewise, Pericles, the Greek orator, also understood the significance of public speaking when he said: “The person who can think and does not know how to express what he thinks is at a level of him who cannot think.”

2. Start Your Speech With… Evidence

Present statistics or other data on the importance of public speaking.

The University of Michigan conducted a survey of 1,290 business school alumni who were recently promoted. They were asked what specific subject area prepared them the most for their business success. More than 70 percent cited effective communications as the top business skill — ahead of financial and business acumen!

3. Start Your Speech With… an Anecdote

Tell a story of someone directly affected by the benefits of public speaking.

Isabelle lived alone for the first six years of her life. Very alone in her silent world. She lived only with her reclusive mother who also could not speak. She was a deaf mute. Isabelle was so isolated from other people she had no chance to learn or practice speaking.

When authorities finally rescued her from her silent and isolated world, she seemed ineducable. But after being around people who could speak, Isabelle broke out of her silent world. In one week, she vocalized sounds. In two months, she spoke in full sentences. In 16 months she learned 2,000 words. And in 56 months her IQ tripled, in part due to the power of being around people who could speak.

4. Start Your Speech With… a Statement

Make a bold observation on the importance of public speaking.

Public speaking is the sine qua non* of leadership. Without it, you cannot lead. With it, you can “lead nations, raise armies, inspire victories and blow fresh courage into the hearts of men” as Adlai Stevenson eulogized Sir Winston Churchill.

[* Ed. sine qua non: Latin for "essential element".]

5. Start Your Speech With… an Example

Cite a person whose career really took off because of public speaking.

After graduating from college with degrees in chemistry and microbiology, Wilma Subra figured she’d spend more time with a microscope than a microphone. But that was before she found out how many families were being exposed to high levels of chemicals and other toxins as part of her field work for a company in Louisiana. Her employer did not want to release the polluting information. So Wilma decided to start her own company, conducting environmental tests and reporting her results to government authorities and the media.

Wilma soon found herself in a variety of public speaking platforms. Her work directly cleaned up dozens of toxic sites across the country and saved thousands of lives in more than 800 communities over the last 20 years. Wilma credits her public speaking ability for much of her environmental campaign success. She says public speaking is the best way to “engage people and get them involved.”

Your Assignment to Start Your Next Speech

TEASE ‘em to please ‘em. Think Testimonial, Example, Anecdote, Statement, and Evidence for the next speech you write. And dive in!

Note: You may also be interested in Peter Jeff’s companion article: 10 Ways to End Your Speech with a Bang.

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Peter Jeff has served an adjunct public speaking instructor at Grand Valley State University for the last 10 years. He is a former leadership development consultant with more than 20 years experience in corporate public relations. Mr. Jeff is also the author of a personal leadership book -- Get a Grip on Your Dream: 12 Ways to Squeeze More Success Out of Your Goals -- and can be reached at jeffp@gvsu.edu.

As a speaker, one major milestone you face is your first highly public speech. Most of you won’t have to give that first talk at a TED conference as I did. However, if you do, it helps to remember that the things which make TED talks great can make all talks great.

TED speakers are asked to do six things in their talk:

1. Distill your life’s work or experience into a 3, 6, 9 or 18 minute talk
2. Be authentic/vulnerable
3. Convey one strong idea
4. Tell a story that hasn’t been told before
5. Tell and not sell
6. Absolutely and positively stick to the time limit

Do those things and you too can give “the talk of your life.”

How I Came to Speak at TED

In 2006 I was living in a Chevy van with my Rottweiler and cat in a Wal-Mart shopping lot in Denver, Colorado. A “grand adventure” had gone awry and left me more homeless than free spirit. My father had recently died. I’d quit a good paying job to escape the stress and grief of his death and recent life changes, and dug my hole of depression deeper. I had become invisible, one of the 3.5 million working homeless in America.

Yet three years later the lowest point of my life was suddenly fodder for a TED talk. I’d just won an all-expenses-paid trip to TED Global 2009, courtesy of Daniel Pink, best-selling author, former speech writer for Al Gore and a professional speaker himself. As an attendee, I was eligible to compete for a chance to talk at TED.

Coincidently, TED Global 2009’s theme was “The essence of things not seen.” It summed up my year of being invisible as a homeless woman. But now that year or more of being invisible to society had the potential to educate and inspire society.

All I had to do was give the “talk of my life.”

How to Write the Talk of Your Life in Six Minutes

Easy? Not really. Not only was I not a speaker, I’d never given a formal, prepared talk to a large group before. This would not only be the first professional speech of my life, it would be about the most emotional and trying year of my life.  I had less than two months to prepare. It was a challenge.

I turned to a variety of sources, including Six Minutes, for help. Here’s what I learned:

1. Distill Your Life’s Work or Experience into a 3, 6, 9 or 18 minute talk

Any of us could fill books with the story of our lives. But how do you narrow your focus and distill a life to mere minutes? Determine your message – is it to educate? Motivate? Persuade? Entertain? Or inspire? I wanted to do all those things.

I had lived in my van for a year with a dog and house cat while working a full-time job.  I was dealing with heat, depression, hassles from police and security guards whose job it was to make sure I didn’t sleep in my van on their property. There was the day-to-day struggle to eat, sleep, work, shower and survive on the streets. There was the struggle to remain true to the vision I had of being a free spirit on an adventure while fighting clinical depression. As I prepared for the talk, I was living in an apartment, and couldn’t decide what part of the van-dwelling experience I wanted to convey.

2. Be Authentic

I kept asking myself, what was my message? Where did I focus? It wasn’t easy to decide. I finally climbed back into my van, closed my eyes and asked myself, “What will the audience want to know? What would I want to know if I heard a similar story?” Simple. I’d want to know how I escaped. What got me out of the van and homelessness and back into an apartment? That was the message, the quality, the focus. From there it just got easier.

3. Convey one strong idea

The theme for TED Global was, “The essence of things not seen.” My talk was about being one of the invisible working homeless – the essence of things not seen. But it was also about the essence of things – like perspectives and judgments, that influence our lives. In this context, my message was clear: “People are not where they live, where they sleep, what they are doing at any given moment. People are their dreams and visions.”

Tip: Take time to focus each idea you want to express, then pick the most compelling, the strongest idea.

4. Tell a story that hasn’t been told before

As a journalist I had an advantage. I’m a professional storyteller. Yet I still had to find a new story, a story about being homeless that hadn’t been told before. So I told my story. It’s easy to hide behind talking about other people in similar situations, with similar issues, but the powerful story, the one people want to hear, is your story.

Once I believed that, I could start looking at how my experience, my journey through homelessness, while the same on many levels, was also new and untold in many other ways. I also noticed that with many stories about the homeless, it’s easy to resort to playing on the audience’s heart strings and going for the pity pull. I didn’t want that. I wanted my audience to be with me emotionally, but to identify with me, not to feel sorry for me. I wanted to come across as authentic, not as a victim.

To do that I focused on the facts, not on the trauma of the pain or the emotion. Own the situation, don’t blame the situation.  Tell the story and let the reader or listener make their own choice about the outcome.

5. Tell and not sell

One of the strongest “rules” that TED organizers establish is to not “sell” anything, or use your time to pitch your book, organization, or business. It’s great advice.

Tell the audience something, don’t sell them something. They want solutions. If you can provide that, the rest will come. I had nothing to sell, so abiding by that rule was easy! If you have a great message, a fabulous idea, or an amazing story or product – people will want to buy. You don’t have to sell them. Focus on being remarkable, not profitable.

6. Stick to the time limit

TED organizers don’t budge on this one. I watched several people interrupted when they breached their time limit. The same holds true for any venue where you talk. Even if you go over your limit, the audience is watching the clock. Their timers will go off and you’ll lose them if you talk too long. Set your own limit and keep it.

Practical Speaking Tips

I also learned numerous practical speaking lessons along the way. In terms of preparation and practice, here’s my advice to you:

• Memorize your talk where possible and refer back to notes or prompters
• Get 8-hours sleep after practicing. This helps your brain commit, process, and store the speech, allowing you to remember what you’ve crammed for.
• Give the speech to a small audience the day before
• Give the speech to yourself an hour before your actual speech
• Practice in the venue where you’ll be talking – get on the stage if possible beforehand.

Learn From the Best You Can Access

I also got fantastic advice from some of the best speakers at TED.

From Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO and founder of the Accumen Foundation:(Novogratz is not only a seasoned TED speaker, she’s married to Chris Anderson, moderator for TED.)

• Give your speech (no matter how often you’ve given it before) to a close friend, or out loud to yourself before you actually get on stage for your real talk.

From Daniel Pink, professional speaker, best-selling author, former speech writer for Al Gore, and TED talker:

• Remember your audience wants you to succeed
• Relax and enjoy your time on stage

From June Cohen, TED University Moderator,

• Stand, move, and walk around on stage, but don’t stand and sway or shuffle
• Smile
• Don’t block the TED logo
• Don’t walk out of the camera range
• Don’t worry about looking perfect. We edit out all the mistakes and the parts where you forget your place. The video makes you look perfect, but no one gives an error free presentation.

From the guys who ran the sound checks…
From Bruno Giussani (European Director of TED Global Conferences)…
From Sam Martin, TED Magazine editor…
And from all the TED Global Fellows:

• Breathe
• The louder your voice, the more you’ll naturally gesticulate
• Enjoy the ride
• Be authentic
• It’s not a competition

The advice I would give now?

Practice, practice, practice – in front of mirrors, in front of friends, in front of small audiences before you make your debut in your final venue. And then relax and enjoy it. You’ll be fine. You may not be perfect, but you’ll be fine.

Honestly? I don’t remember the six minutes at all. It was the longest and the shortest six minutes of my life. But for the rest of the week at TED, I was gratified to find those who heard the talk come up to me to thank me for speaking. I swallowed my tendency to protest (“It was no big deal”) and to just say “Thank you,” and take it all in. I resisted the temptation to compare myself to any other speaker. It would have been counterproductive.

Perhaps the most important thing I learned was that the best talks of our lives are the ones that focus on describing the journey more than the outcome.

Watch Becky Blanton’s TEDGlobal Talk

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related to This Story…

• You can read more about Becky’s story in a TED Magazine article.
• Three other TED speakers — Al Gore, Hans Rosling, and Majora Carter — have been featured on Six Minutes previously

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Becky Blanton is currently back in her van, with her Rottweiler, traveling across the USA and documenting her journey the second time around, this time as a writer, not a homeless woman. Discover more about Becky at beckyblanton.com.

“Loved it! Well DONE.”

“Great speech – hilarious!”

“Mate, that was awesome.”

A great Best Man Speech is the highlight of any wedding banquet.

But exactly what makes a great Best Man Speech?

A Great Best Man Speech is…?

We all know the signs: first the chuckles, then the roar, knowing nods and glances, spontaneous applause, perhaps even the occasional hanky.

But is the reality of the Best Man Speech always this rosy?

Chances are, you will at some point have sat through a Best Man Speech and cringed.

I know I have.

A Lousy Best Man Speech is…?

• The lousy speech that’s more like a reading;
• The stale internet gag;
• References to girlfriends past;
• Clever jibes that fall flat; and
• An ending with a toast that brings more relief than joy.

So, how can Best Men give themselves the best possible chance of being a hit?

Well, let’s start by recognising that preparing and delivering a Best Man Speech is nerve-wracking.

Trust me, I’ve been there.

I worried about whether the jokes would work. I worried about whether I had enough material on the Groom. I worried… I worried… and I worried some more.

But that’s OK. It’s natural. More to the point, it’s important. It shows you’re serious about wanting to do a good job.

But there is pressure. It stems from the received wisdom about what constitutes a “strong” Best Man Speech:

1. The speech should humiliate the Groom.
2. The speech should be hilarious.

Striking the right balance, however, is tricky.

No Best Man ever gave a great speech by making the Groom’s friends cheer and the Bride’s parents cry.

So, what to do?

Well as with any speech, the key is to be absolutely clear on your answer to one critically important question:

Who are you writing the Best Man Speech for?

A wedding audience is a complex beast:

• young and old,
• rich and poor,
• aunts and uncles,
• grandparents and 2 year old grand children,
• close friends and distant friends,
• traditional and “not-so-traditional”

Yet so many Best Man Speeches are written and delivered for the friends of the Groom.

Only the friends of the Groom.

I’m not saying the Groom isn’t fair game on his Wedding Day — of course he is.

But not if it risks alienating a whole bunch of other people who “weren’t-there-on-the-Stag-Do-when-Fred-got-drunk-and-shagged-Olga-The-Hairy, the-Bulgarian-shot-putter-from-Varna”.

Certainly not if it risks upsetting the people who, next to the Bride and Groom, are the most important members of any wedding party.

The parents.

Heresy it may be, but the truth is that any Best Man wanting to “score big” with his speech should build it around what will engage and entertain The Parents, not The Friends.

What will The Parents find funny?

When recounting the stories, what traits in their offspring will The Parents recognise and enjoy? And most important, what will make The Parents proud of their new son-in-law and their new daughter-in-law?

No, this is not about being a sycophant. Far from it. It’s about doing what’s in any speaker’s best interest –  recognising the number one rule of public speaking — know your audience.

(It’s also about discharging your duties responsibly, but we can save the high-horse preaching for another time).

Think about it. The Father Of The Bride has just given one of the most emotional speeches of his life, finally releasing his darling girl. Emotions are running high. Hankies are on stand-by.

Because everyone – the young, the old, the aunts, the uncles and the friends – is there to celebrate the single same event.

A new and happy union.

At a time like this – on a Wedding Day of all days – what’s the last thing everyone needs? Some smart alec on a mission to prove what a dreadful mistake the twerp in the meringue outfit just made.

Want your Best Man Speech to be a winner? If the answer is yes, then I can put it no simpler than this: Win The Parents and you will win The Crowd.

You may not be hilarious, but at least you’ll be appreciated. And that’s more than a malevolent Best Man will ever achieve.

Best Man Speech Example

Ed: As an example, here is Simon delivering a Best Man Speech. What additional lessons can we learn from this speech example?

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Simon Bucknall is a former Best Man and twice winner of the GB & All-Ireland Championship of Public Speaking. He is a full-time speaker coach, trainer, and keynote speaker. For more information, visit Simon's site: The Art of Connection .

Metaphors help a skeptical or apathetic audience better embrace and value a new concept or idea.

Metaphors make the connection of that new idea to an object the audience already knows.

Read on to discover a treasure chest of metaphor speech examples.

The dictionary defines a metaphor as an implied comparison between two unlike things (e.g. human body and garage) that actually have something important in common (e.g. storage). “Your body is a garage to park your soul,” writes author Wayne Dyer.

Metaphors are Meaningful Bridges in Speeches

Think of a metaphor as a connection or a bridge between the new and the familiar. This connection provides a new perspective and a new meaning that can persuade an audience to reconsider its skeptical or apathetic attitude.

Metaphors are so powerful that Aristotle said: “The greatest thing by far is to have mastered the metaphor.” And the Spanish philosopher and writer Jose Ortega y Gasset added, “The metaphor is probably the most fertile power possessed by man.”

Metaphors provide a frame of reference to more fully apply new concepts or ideas. That’s why the first trains were called horseless carriages. After all, people already knew the purpose and the premise of a carriage. So a carriage without a horse must roll on wheels.

Metaphors pique the interest of an audience to see the old in a new way. Even the students who think science is boring might reconsider if they thought that those who studied astronomy were “peeping Toms at the keyhole of eternity,” as author Arthur Koestler observed.

When Kodak invented the camera, the technology was so new and different the camera could only be valued by linking the new technology of a camera to something more familiar. Kodak called its camera a “mirror with a memory.” They connected two dissimilar things that actually have something in common. A camera’s film is the memory and the lens is the mirror. Link the two knowns to the unknown — a camera — and a metaphor is born.

Charles Revson, the founder of Revlon, used his metaphorical thinking to expand the reach of his business. “In the factory we make cosmetics. In the store we sell hope.” Likewise Porsche pays homage to the metaphor in its advertising: “A Porsche is not a car. It is the best engineered executive toy in the world.” Metaphors are so powerful they can transform much like the antique dealer who says your trash is our treasure.

Metaphorically Speaking… More Metaphor Examples

Consider the following speech metaphor examples:

• Chances are your audiences would see more value in making an appointment to see a smile stylist rather than a dentist.
• Chances are your audiences would be more interested in learning how to purchase jewelry for their windows rather than window accessories such as curtain rods, rings, tie-backs and swag.
• Chances are your audiences would do more research if they thought of themselves as infonauts and the library as the delivery room for the birth of ideas.
• Chances are your audiences might enjoy exercise more if they thought of their treadmill as a flight simulator.
• Chances are your audiences would eat more fruit if they thought they were eating God’s candy.
• And chances are members of your audiences might more readily volunteer to become the designated driver if everyone kept calling him or her the Life of the Party.

Analogies: Close Cousins to the Metaphor

In addition to the metaphor, polished speakers show up with their “A” game to engage audiences and help them better understand a complex policy or procedure.

Use an analogy whenever you need to explain a new process or new procedure particularly to a general audience. The dictionary defines analogy as a “similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar.” To create an analogy, find an object that your audience is already familiar with. Then look for characteristics in that object that could be compared to traits or various aspects of your process.

Example of an Analogy to Open a Speech

Let’s say you are a nutritionist and you want to deliver a speech on the value of fasting for a general audience, many of whom would be completely turned off by the prospect of not eating every 4-5 hours. Let’s call up the A-team and begin your speech with an analogy that engages the audience and builds greater understanding first with something they already are familiar with.

In your research on fasting you find that one of the key benefits to fasting is that your digestive system gets a lot more efficient after a fast. During a fast it reorganizes parts and pieces of the digestive system that normally are too busy digesting food.

Is there something in your audience’s everyday lives that reorganizes itself and gets more efficient especially when you are NOT using that process as you normally would?

How about computers? Is there any way to connect computer processing to a fasting process that reorganizes the digestive system to make it work better? Consider the following analogy that opened a speech on fasting to a general audience:

My computer was running so slooooowwwwww. Defrag it, my friend told me. I thought he said “Rag it.” What! What was I supposed to do with a rag? Dust off the computer? Well after my friend had his good laugh at my expense, he explained that defragging helps the computer better digest information you feed it. And then your computer works better, faster and more efficiently, he told me.

I wondered if there was a defragging process for the human body… to make the food I eat digest more efficiently and make me feel that much better! Voila! There is! Fasting is like the defragging process for the human body.

When you fast, you make The Pit Stop of Your Life. And like that pit stop at a NASCAR race track for example, we stop briefly to reset repair, and restore. We stop. (pause) eating for several days or more.

And we free up our body’s digestive system, so that it no longer is expending 60 percent of the body’s energy on digestion. Now it can redirect that energy to reset, restore and repair itself to be that much more effective and efficient when eating resumes.

Another Speech Analogy Example

Here’s another example of an analogy that links specific processes of a stove and stomach to encourage people to eat breakfast. This one is written by John Gray in his book The Mars and Venus Diet and Exercise Solution:

“Think of your body as an old-fashioned steam engine. You need to feed the fire with coal. When there is no coal available, the stoker slows down so that all the available fuel is not consumed. Likewise, your metabolism slows down for the rest of the day when you don’t eat breakfast.”

Metaphor and Analogy: Tools for Every Speaker

The metaphor and analogy are two of the sharpest tools in the public speaker’s shed to weed out the confusion in your audience and plant the seeds of understanding.

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Peter Jeff has served an adjunct public speaking instructor at Grand Valley State University for the last 10 years. He is a former leadership development consultant with more than 20 years experience in corporate public relations. Mr. Jeff is also the author of a personal leadership book -- Get a Grip on Your Dream: 12 Ways to Squeeze More Success Out of Your Goals -- and can be reached at jeffp@gvsu.edu.

In this article, you will learn how adding an unexpected twist to the third element can add power or humor to your speech.

Rule of Three + Unexpected Twist = Speech Gold

As we’ve learned in the earlier articles, there’s something magical about words, phrases, or sentences that come in sets of three. Three-element sets are found in many cultural areas, including religion.

In Trust Me: Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma, author Nick Morgan searches for an explanation:

Why do we respond so powerfully to them? It’s a mystery — something psychological. Some say it has to do with religious symbolism, since there are groups of three in most major religions, but that may be putting the cart before the horse: the religions may have settled on groups of threes for the same psychological reasons that everyone else finds them powerful. Whatever the reason, we find something complete and satisfying in a group of three, like a three-legged stool that can stand firmly on uneven ground [...]

Triads are a classical speechwriting technique, but you can squeeze even more power out of them by carefully choosing your order and adding a twist to the third element.

In Lend Me Your Ears: All you Need to Know about Making Speeches and Presentations, Professor Max Atkinson suggests one way to add a twist:

If your third point is the most important of the three, making it longer is a simple way of implicitly highlighting its greater significance compared with the first two.

The third element in a list of three is often followed by a pause when speaking, so it will linger longest in your audience’s memory. This creates a natural emphasis on this element, even if the three elements are perfectly parallel.

You can take advantage of this natural emphasis by deviating from true parallelism. You could make the third element longer, or shorter, or give it a twist in meaning. All of these will cause your audience to think deeper.

In Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, Roy Peter Clark advises writers to “establish a pattern, then give it a twist”. He notes that three parallel elements create a rhythm of “boom boom boom”, but adding a twist to the third element creates the more memorable “boom boom bang“.

Consider the “bang” created in these examples where the third element deviates from the pattern in length and/or meaning:

• Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness [U.S. Declaration of Independence]
• Truth, Justice, and the American Way [Superman]
• Sex, Lies, and Videotape [movie title]
• “we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America” [Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech]
• God, grant me
  the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
  the courage to change the things I can; and
  the wisdom to know the difference.
• “[1] It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. [2] It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. [3] It means to say your goodbyes.” [Steve Jobs, Stanford Commencement]

Humor and the Rule of Three

Adding a twist to the third element is also the key to creating humor in your speeches.

Consider one popular example that is attributed to both Benjamin Disraeli and Mark Twain:

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.

Why does this work? Let’s break it down. The first two elements (”lies” and “damned lies”) set a pattern in the mind of the audience. They expect a third element such as “white lies”, “torturous lies”, ‘or even “deadly lies”. Humor results from the mismatch between expectation and reality.

I like this technique because it is like a magician who is able to distract us with one hand while deftly completing the “trick” with the other. In speeches, the pattern distracts, and thus magnifies the surprise.

Thus, the recipe for a humorous triad in your next speech is simple.

• Set a pattern with the first two elements to create audience expectations. These elements could be words, phrases, or sentences.
• Break the pattern with the third element. Maximize your audience response by making the third element as absurd as you can while ensuring there is still a connection.

In my “Face the Wind” speech (the focus of a 10-article series on Speech Preparation), I opened with a humorous triad.

Eighteen months ago, my wife and I traded our condo keys for house keys. [1] Our floor space doubled. [2] Our mortgage tripled. [3] Our income didn’t change.

This triad works because the pattern begins with doubled and tripled. The audience expected quadrupled or some other multiplier in the third element.

To perfect the rule of three  humor technique, study stand-up comedians. Watch for it the next time you are watching the monologue on the late-night talk shows. The first sentence introduces a new topic. The second sentence establishes the pattern. The third sentence breaks the pattern with a punch line.

Some time ago, I delivered a humorous (and rhyming) speech about the (fictitious) origins of Toastmasters. In the couplet below, I suggested (with tongue firmly in cheek) possible motivations for young men to improve their speaking skills:

Strong speaking will earn you money, diamonds and pearls,
Dignity, respect, and — most importantly — girls!

The couplet above includes two different triads:

1. The first triad — money, diamonds and pearls — includes three common material benefits. It is not very memorable because all three elements form a consistent pattern.
2. The second triad, on the other hand, begins with two desirable character traits — dignity and respect — and concludes with an unexpected twist. This line provokes laughter from audience members. They expect the pattern to continue with another noble quality (e.g. wisdom, charisma, confidence); while the third element may be human, it’s not exactly noble.

Remember, the last element of your triad is the key which will determine whether you are humorous, memorable, or forgettable.

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Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

In this article, we will learn how the rule of three improves speeches at the macro-speech level when applied to speech stories or to entire speech outlines.

Storytelling and the Rule of Three

Last week, my daughter and I visited our local library to fetch another bounty of  children’s books. We returned with a diverse collection that included:

• the educational Sesame Subjects: My First Book About Fish,
• the hilarious Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business; and
• the classic The Golden Goose from the Brothers Grimm.

(Note to parents: All highly recommended!)

The Golden Goose is the story of three brothers who attempt to chop down the thickest tree in the forest. First, the oldest brother fails; then, the middle brother fails; finally, the youngest brother succeeds — a three-part plot structure.

The three-part story outline is a common structure in folk tales, Biblical tales, and Hollywood plots:

• Three Little Pigs — The first two pigs get eaten because their houses are weak; the third pig’s house of bricks is strong.
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears — The porridge was too hot; the porridge was too cold; the porridge was just right.
• The Three Billy Goats Gruff — The first two goats sneak past the troll, while the third goat defeats the troll.
• The Good Samaritan [New Testament, Bible] — The first traveller passes. The second traveller passes. The third (the Samaritan) helps the injured man.
• Boy meets girl; boy loses girl; boy gets girl in the end.

The Three Act Structure

These fall under a general pattern known as a Three Act Structure. It is widely used in storytelling and screenwriting because it is a proven formula. Stephen J. Cannell claims that “Every great movie, book or play that has stood the test of time has a solid Three-Act structure.”

Syd Field (author of The Screen Writer’s Workbook and other instructive screenwriting guides) asserts that most successful screenplays follow a structure like this:

• Act I: Setup (approximately 30 minutes of a 2-hour movie)
• Act II: Confrontation (approximately 60 minutes)
• Act III: Resolution (approximately 30 minutes)

He further asserts that these acts are separated by two plot points: events that thrust the plot in a new direction. For example, plot point #1 might be the pivotal moment when the reluctant hero is convinced to join the crusade for justice (after spending most of Act One refusing to do so). Plot point #2 might be the moment when the momentum swings from the villain to the hero, eventually leading to a triumphant climax.

This three-part structure is so pervasive in movies, books, and other storytelling forms that audiences feel naturally comfortable when it is used. This comfort can be leveraged by a skillful public speaker.

Three-Part Speech Outlines

When you apply the rule of three to your speech outline, you gain all the benefits of the three-part structure. Your presentation gains warmth, familiarity, and understandability. With the three-part outline framing your ideas, your speech will be easier to follow and remember.

Let’s examine a variety of three-part speech outlines, beginning with the most basic.

Speech Outline #1A: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion

It doesn’t get any simpler than this. Even if you don’t read the rest of this article, you will improve as a speaker if you consistently apply this generic speech outline.

It seems obvious. Almost too obvious. Yet two of the most common speaking blunders are:

1. Omit the introduction: The speaker launches directly into the meat of the content without providing a roadmap or context.
   • Result: The audience wonders “How did we get here?“
2. Omit the conclusion: The presentation ends abruptly immediately after the last statistic or slide with “So… any questions?” Perhaps this is the result of poor time management and a novice speaker who decides “I’m running short on time. I’ll skip the conclusion.”
   • Result: The audience feels stranded, far from the point of origin, wondering “That’s it? What does it mean?“

Speech Outline #1B: Tell them what you’re going to say, Say it, Tell them what you said

This isn’t a new speech outline, but a slight elaboration of the first:

1. Tell them what you’re going to say (Introduction)
2. Say it (Body)
3. Tell them what you said (Conclusion)

Some may say that this speech structure is almost too simplistic. If it is accompanied by boring content and lifeless delivery, that’s a fair critique.

However, repetition is a powerful speechwriting technique, and you can do much worse than repeating your key points three times during a speech to persuade your audience. Take inspiration from Lewis Carroll in The Hunting of the Snark:

I have said it thrice: What i tell you three times is true.

Speech Outline #2: Past, Present, Future

This speech outline can either stand on its own:

• Past, Present, Future

or take the place of “Body” in the pattern above to make:

• Introduction, Body [= Past, Present, Future], Conclusion

A common application is a persuasive speech where you pitch a solution to a business problem:

• Past – You set the context by identifying a problem facing your company, and describing how it came to be.
• Present – You lay out the decision to be made now, and the alternatives to choose from.
• Future – You paint a picture of prosperity that will be realized if the right choice is made (perhaps you use a successful case study).

If you apply this speech outline well, your audience will more easily understand your message. On the other hand, your audience is more likely to be confused if you jump forward and backward in time repeatedly (talk about the decision first, then the future prosperity, then the root cause of the past problem, then another alternative, then…)

Speech Outline #3: Complication, Resolution, Example

Another three part speech outline for persuasive speeches is the S.Co.R.E. method offered by Andrew Abela in Advanced Presentations by Design: Creating Communication that Drives Action (read the Six Minutes book review).

Abela recommends starting your speech (Introduction) by establishing the Situation, and then iterating through a three-element series of Complication, Resolution, Example. In a sequence form, your speech might look like:

• Introduction – Situation
• Body
  • Complication, Resolution, Example
  • Complication, Resolution, Example
  • Complication, Resolution, Example
  • …, …, …
• Conclusion

The three-part Complication-Resolution-Example structure can be repeated once (e.g. a five-minute speech) or many times (e.g. a one-hour seminar).

Speech Outline #4A: Three Main Points

A basic three-part informative speech outline is as follows:

1. Introduction — Establish topic and core message; list supporting points
2. Body
   1. Supporting Point One
   2. Supporting Point Two
   3. Supporting Point Three
3. Conclusion — Recap main points; summarize core message; call-to-action

In this case, the rule of three magic lies in limiting yourself to your best three points. Any fewer, and your message won’t be compelling. Any more, and your message risks becoming tedious. Brainstorm many, but select your best three.

The Decker Grid System (from You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard – reviewed here) is built on this foundation. Bert Decker goes on to say that, for longer speeches, each of your three supporting points can be reinforced with (no surprise) three sub-points each.

Speech Outline #4B: Three Stories

Stories can strengthen any type of speech, but are especially powerful in motivational speeches where making an emotional connection with your audience is required. When you tell stories, pattern them on the three-act structure for maximum impact.

The Three Main Points speech outline can be given a storytelling slant with the following:

1. Attention grabbing opening which introduces the topic and core message
2. Tell story #1.
   • Make point #1.
3. Tell story #2.
   • Make point #2.
4. Tell story #3.
   • Make point #3.
5. Memorable conclusion which ties together all three stories to support the core message.

Speech Outline #5: Pros, Cons, Recommendation

We’ll conclude with a common speech outline used for persuasive speeches where you are recommending a course of action.

1. Introduction – Brief setup of problem and proposal
2. Body
   1. Pros – What are the benefits of this proposal?
   2. Cons – What are the drawbacks of this proposal?
   3. Recommendation – Why do the pros outweigh the cons?
3. Conclusion – Restate the pros and repeat the recommendation

Other Three-Part Speech Outlines?

Do you use other speech outlines that follow the rule of three? Please share in the comments.

Conclusion of the Rule of Three Article Series

The final article addresses how the rule of three applies to speech humor.

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• How to Add Power or Humor with the Rule of Three
• How to Use the Rule of Three in Your Speeches
• 5 Speechwriting Lessons from Obama’s Inaugural Speech
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• How to Make Metaphorical Magic in Your Speech
• Book Review: Advanced Presentations by Design by Andrew Abela

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

Using the Rule of Three allows you to express concepts more completely, emphasize your points, and increase the memorability of your message.

That’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

What is the rule of three? What are some famous examples? How do you use it in speeches? Read on!

Western Culture and the Rule of Three

Trios, triplets, and triads abound in Western culture in many disciplines. Just a small sampling of memorable cultural triads include:

• Christianity
  • Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
  • Heaven, hell, and purgatory
  • Three Wise Men with their gold, frankincense, and myrrh
• Movies & Books
  • The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
  • Sex, Lies, and Videotape
  • Superman’s “Truth, Justice, and the American Way“
  • Nursery rhymes such as the Three Little Pigs or Goldilocks and the Three Bears
  • In a more general sense, there is the allure of trilogies as with Indiana Jones, The Godfather, The Matrix, Star Wars, and many others.
• Politics
  • U.S. Branches of Government: Executive, Judicial, and Legislative
  • U.S. Declaration of Independence: “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”
  • French motto: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
  • Abundance of tri-colored flags
• Civic, Organizational, and Societal Mottos
  • Fire safety motto: Stop, Drop, and Roll
  • Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius or Faster, Higher, Stronger
  • Real estate: Location, Location, Location
    

Historic Rule of Three Speech Examples

Speechwriting is, of course, part of our culture. Examples of the Rule of Three can be found in some of the most famous speeches ever delivered:

• Julius Caesar
  • “Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered)
• Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
  • “Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Lend me your ears.“
• Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
  • “We can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground.“
  • “Government of the people, by the people, for the people“
• General MacArthur, West Point Address, 1962
  • “Duty, Honor, Country” [repeated several times in the speech]
• Barack Obama, Inaugural Speech
  • “we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America“

What’s Magical About the Rule of Three?

It is reasonable to ask what’s so special about three? Why is it so popular in our culture? Aren’t there just as many examples of two- or four-element famous speech lines?

For a famous duo, there is Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death.”

For a classic quartet, it is tough to beat Winston Churchill’s “I would say to the House as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

Despite examples like these, there is something magical about the Rule of Three in the way that it allows a speaker to express a concept, emphasize it, and make it memorable.

In his book Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, Roy Peter Clark provides insights to the magic of the number three:

… the “encompassing” magic of number three … in our language or culture, three provides a sense of the whole …

… in the anti-math of writing, the number three is greater than four. The mojo of three offers a greater sense of completeness than four or more. …

Use one for power. Use two for comparison, contrast. Use three for completeness, wholeness, roundness. Use four or more to list, inventory, compile, and expand.

Rhetorical Devices — Rule of Three

The rule of three describes triads of all types — any collection of three related elements. Two more specific triad variants are hendiatris and tricolon.

Hendiatris

A hendiatris is a figure of speech where three successive words are used to express a central idea.

Examples of hendiatris include:

• “Veni, vidi, vici.” [Julius Caesar]
• “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité“ [French motto]
• “Citius, Altius, Fortius” [Olympic motto]
  
• “Wine, women, and song” [Anonymous]

Tricolon

A tricolon is a series of three parallel elements (words or phrases). In a strict tricolon, the elements have the same length but this condition is often put aside.

Examples of tricola include:

• “Veni, vidi, vici.” [Julius Caesar]
• “Be sincere, be brief, be seated.” [Advice for speakers from Franklin D. Roosevelt]
• “Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation – not because of [1] the height of our skyscrapers, or [2] the power of our military, or [3] the size of our economy.” [Barack Obama, Keynote speech to Democratic National Convention, July 2004]

Contemporary Speech Examples using the Rule of Three

Nearly every speech critiqued on Six Minutes has wielded the magic of the Rule of Three, as shown by numerous examples below.

• Click through the links to read the detailed analysis.
• Watch the speech being delivered, and note the delivery of these key triads.
• Note how memorable these passages are within the whole speech.

Examples like these cross a wide array of speech types and settings. You can study these examples, and then apply the lessons to your own speechwriting to see how you can incorporate the Rule of Three.

• 5 Speechwriting Lessons from Obama’s Inaugural Speech

Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered.

• Steve Jobs: Stanford Commencement Address, 2005

[1] It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. [2] It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. [3] It means to say your goodbyes.

• Dalton Sherman: Do you believe?

You’re the ones [1] who feed us, [2] who wipe our tears, [3] who hold our hands or hug us when we need it.

• J.A. Gamache: Toastmasters, 2007

A sandal of hope when you reach out.
A sandal of joy when you listen to your heart.
A sandal of courage when you dare to care.

• Electrify Your Audience with a Shocking Speech Opening

Tobacco. [long pause]
Alcohol. [long pause]
Guns. [long pause]
Criminal items seized in a search [slight pause] of a 6th grade locker in a bad school district.

• Patrick Henry Winston: How to Speak

Your careers will be determined largely by how well you speak, by how well you write, and by the quality of your ideas… in that order.

• Speech Preparation #6: Add Impact with Rhetorical Devices

… we cannot predict when the wind blows. We cannot predict how strong it will be. We certainly cannot predict its direction.

Other Magical Ways to Harness the Power of Three in Speechwriting

The next Six Minutes articles in this series show you how to apply the Rule of Three to speech outlines, and how to create humor with the Rule of Three to get your audience laughing.

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• How to Add Power or Humor with the Rule of Three
• Why Successful Speech Outlines follow the Rule of Three
• How to Make Metaphorical Magic in Your Speech
• 5 Speechwriting Lessons from Obama’s Inaugural Speech
• How can you inspire your audience? Ask 10-year-old Dalton Sherman.
• Toastmasters Speech 4: How to Say It

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

I wish all my colleagues would read this business communications book.

Advanced Presentations by Design: Creating Communication that Drives Action offers a comprehensive approach to planning and designing presentations focused on selling ideas and persuading your audience.

This article reviews the recently authored book from  presentations expert Andrew Abela. It is the latest in a series of public speaking book reviews here on Six Minutes.

There is much to love about Advanced Presentations by Design. Here are a few of my favorite things about this book.

I Love… the Comprehensive Speech Preparation Framework

This book is quite broad in scope. It covers all aspects of presentation design, from audience analysis all the way through the creation of visuals.

It is well-structured, and follows a 10-step method which you can follow to prepare your presentation. In each step, the author guides you to answer the following questions.

1. Audience — Who is your (most important) audience?
2. Objectives — What is your objective for this presentation?
3. Problem  / Solution — What business problem are you helping to provide a solution for?
4. Evidence — What evidence are you offering to support your solution?
5. Anecdotes — Which anecdotes illustrate your message?
6. Sequencing — In what sequence will you present your evidence?
7. Charts — Which charts will best convey your data?
8. Layouts — What layout will you use for each slide?
9. Stakeholders — Have you addressed the concerns of each stakeholder?
10. Measurement — How will you measure the success of your presentation?

The first six topics offer compelling arguments for devoting adequate time to clearly structuring your ideas and arguments before diving into the mechanics of slide design.

I Love… the Support Material (Diagrams, References)

Abela achieves a rare feat with this book. He manages to maintain quite a broad scope, while at the same time providing significant depth in exploring key topics.

This is accomplished through a variety of techniques:

• Detailed descriptions with numerous examples and anecdotes;
• Numerous diagrams to illustrate key concepts; and
• Dozens of supplementary notes in the margins, backed by a full 9 pages of references in the appendix. Nearly every claim that Abela makes is supported by a corresponding reference to an authoritative text or academic paper in communications, marketing, or visual design.

I Love… the Practical and Action-Oriented Style

This is not a boring, theoretical textbook.

This book owes its origins to presentation design workshops given by Abela for many years. The concepts and material evolved through each iteration, and are captured here in book form.

These origins are evident throughout the text. At times, it hardly seems like you are reading this book; instead, it seems you are following along in an interactive workshop. Practical examples are numerous. Worksheets are even provided for you to apply the concepts directly to your own presentation materials.

I’m sure it is no accident that the reader is driven to actively apply the techniques learned. Indeed, this reflects the subtitle of the book: Creating Communication That Drives Action.

I Love… the Innovative Concepts that I Look Forward to Applying

As I read through this book, several meaty concepts really jumped out at me. Three of the most memorable are the S.Co.R.E. method, the Squint Test, and the Ballroom vs Conference Room presentation style distinction.

• S.Co.R.E. Method (Situation, Complication, Resolution, Example)
  Abela offers this as a universally applicable storytelling structure upon which you can base your entire presentation. It is an iterative method — S.Co.R.E, Co.R.E, Co.R.E., Co.R.E., etc. — with the example from one iteration leading naturally into the next most important complication from your audience viewpoint.
• Squint Test
  Abela suggests that the best test for effective slide design is whether or not the slide conveys meaning when you squint at it (to blur it). Thus, if the shapes and layout of the slide convey meaning, you have a winning slide. This is an application of the Principal of Compatibility, as described in Kosslyn’s Clear and To the Point.
• Ballroom Style vs. Conference Room Style
  Abela asserts that presentations fall into one of two contexts, and this context should influence your choice of slide design considerably.
  • Ballroom Presentations — colorful, vibrant, photograph-heavy slides, large audiences (e.g. the types of presentations addressed by Duarte’s slide:ology or Reynolds’ Presentation Zen)
  • Conference Room Presentations — less flashy, more details, handouts rather than slides, smaller audiences

What Could be Improved?

1. The last two steps of the framework (Stakeholders and Measurement) receive minimal treatment. I would like to see more attention (and thus more pages) devoted to exploring these concepts, particularly because most speaking books do not address them adequately.
2. The Rhetoric section (the Anecdotes and Sequencing steps) addresses only macro-content: individual stories, as well as overall speech structure. I think this section could be enhanced by exploring some micro-content techniques such as repetition of key words or phrases, crafting of signature phrases, or the importance of precise words to promote action from the audience.
3. While the concept is thought-provoking, I don’t completely buy into his clear distinction between Ballroom and Conference Room presentations. Thinking of my own presentations, seminars, and courses, nearly all call for a combination of both methods. (Perhaps that is the key lesson to learn?)
4. This is nitpicking, but the cover needs a makeover. The simple design doesn’t grab me visually. More significantly, it fails the Squint Test, and the graphic elements seem gratuitous.

About the Author — Andrew Abela

Dr. Andrew Abela is an authority on marketing, persuasion, and presentation methods.

Dr. Abela is an associate professor of marketing at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was previously a brand manager with Proctor & Gamble and a management consultant with McKinsey and Company.

He authors the Extreme Presentation Method blog, an excellent blog which is often cited in the Six Minutes reviews.

What Others are Saying about Advanced Presentations by Design

Juice Analytics:

If you make presentations for a living or just as a hobby, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book. Abela does an impressive job of teaching his process and keeping it interesting.

ShockMD.com:

Advanced presentation has to my opinion the most appeal to scientist[s] also because the author has based his method on research studies, an evidence based approach to presentations.

Tracy Allison Altman:

But the book is more than a recap of scientific findings: He writes from the perspective of a marketer and business manager, offering practical, evidence-based advice about how to focus on a problem your audience has, and how to show them you can help solve it.

Juan Carlos Mendez-Garcia:

I have attended his seminars, and definitely recommend his method. For anyone interested in improving their presentation skills, and generating action out of their presentations, it is must-read.

Balanced Scorecard: (based on translation)

[...] well worth the investment of time and money [...] well worth reading [...]

Ellen Naylor:

“Advanced Presentations by Design” is a great book you might consider [...] His one-day workshop was one of the best I have attended [...]

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Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.