Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences is the second book from presentation superhero Nancy Duarte.
It is also the second book of hers which I strongly recommend you read — immediately.
This article is the latest of a series of public speaking book reviews here on Six Minutes.
What if your speeches were more quotable?
What if your speeches were more powerful?
What if your speeches were more memorable?
Anaphora can do this for you. In this article, we examine how strategic use of repetition can elevate your speechwriting.
This article reviews a thought-provoking speech by Dan Pink about the surprising science of motivation, which was delivered at TED in 2009.
Pink delivers a masterful speech which demonstrates many strong speech techniques, including:
The strength of this speech isn’t surprising at all, given Pink’s former role as chief speechwriter for Al Gore.
This is the latest in a series of speech critiques here on Six Minutes.
Keith Kennedy asks:
At my Toastmasters meeting last night, one of the speech evaluators recommended that the speaker should “bookend her speech”. I’ve never heard that term before. What does it mean, and is it something you recommend?
In this article, we’ll define what it means to bookend your speech, and give a set of tips for exercising this wonderful technique.
Several readers sent in questions related to impromptu speeches, including Matthias K.:
I’m pretty comfortable when I have days or even weeks to prepare a speech, but I REALLY struggle when I’m asked to speak at a moment’s notice. Do you have any tips for impromptu speaking?
In this article, you’ll find a set of tips that will make you shine the next time you are asked to speak on the spur of the moment.
Has this ever happened to you?
You’ve discovered a fascinating statistic that clinches your persuasive argument. You save it for your last point, and deliver it clearly. You expect a wave of emotion to hit your audience, but…
Nothing. Your audience doesn’t react at all. Do they not get it?
If this sounds familiar, then you are not alone. A Six Minutes subscriber, Akiko Takeshita, sends this question via email:
I wonder if you have any advice for working statistics into a speech. Sometimes it works for me, but I often feel like the audience isn’t impacted by the statistic when the statistic seems very powerful to me. What am I doing wrong?
In this article, we examine the importance of using statistics in your speech, and how to do so effectively.
Aristotle said that all speaking is persuasive speaking.
I agree. After all, who am I to argue with Aristotle?!?
Regardless of the venue (10 people or 1,000 people, a conference, a sales call, or a feedback session), we, as speakers, are always trying to sell our credibility and value – not to mention our ideas. Hence, all speaking is persuasive.
Imagine you are scheduled to deliver a speech in two weeks. At first, you are excited about the opportunity. Very soon, however, a feeling of dread overwhelms you — what will your speech topic be?
Conventional wisdom says to talk about what you know, but conventional wisdom is only partially correct.
This article reveals three questions you must ask before choosing your speech topic, and how the answers lead you to great speech topics for you and your audience.
Speech introductions are often an afterthought, hastily thrown together at the last second by someone with little knowledge of the speaker, their speech, or the value for the audience.
And yet, speech introductions are critical to the success of a speech.
While a strong speech opening is vital, nothing helps establish a speaker’s credibility more than a carefully-crafted and well-delivered introduction.
This article gives you a series of practical tips for how to introduce a speaker to position them with the best possible chance to succeed.
For many of us, the appeal of writing a speech falls somewhere down there between getting a speeding ticket and being audited.
But take heart! You’re in a very powerful position as a speechmaker, and that’s a good place to be. A well-written speech can drive sales, deepen commitment, motivate hearts and minds, and even change the world. It can be magic.
Now, you may not feel very powerful as a speechwriter, especially if you don’t do it often. But the truth is, you already have some magic speechwriting powers at your disposal, and you don’t need to spend seven years at Hogwarts to learn how to use them.
Imagine that you are writing your next great speech. As you scour your mind for the fact that will clinch your case, you will discover one of two things: either you know it, or you don’t.
Most of the time, you won’t know every piece of information you need to make a compelling argument, but you can find it.
The seventh Toastmasters speech project encourages you to go beyond your own knowledge and opinions, and fill in the gaps with various forms of research.
This article of the Toastmasters Speech Series examines the primary goals of this project, provides tips and techniques, and links to numerous sample speeches.
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