I had the honor of delivering the keynote address for Ed Slott last week, and you can click here to see what Ed had to say about my presentation.
Many participants said, “This is the BEST presentation I’ve ever heard!”
Believe me, this is not what audiences said when I started speaking professionally about two decades ago. I did not get great evaluations. Few people sitting in the audience invited me to give the same talk at their meetings.
But I had a message I wanted to get out there, so I invested in my speaking skills. I spent hours listening to great speakers. I joined the National Speaker’s Association and hired coaches and mentors. I became a serious student of the fine art of verbal persuasion.
Here are just a few lessons I’ve collected over the years. Hopefully they will serve you, too!
Know your purpose. Why are you speaking? What do you want your audience members to do differently as a result of hearing you speak?
Think of your presentation as a first date. Usually the goal of the talk is to inspire your ideal prospects to go out on a second date with you.
Have a main point. Imagine you’re at a meeting and you overhear two participants in the bathroom as they wash their hands. One says to the other, “Hey I missed Dr. Vicki’s presentation. What was it about?”
Ideally you have communicated your main point so clearly that your sound bites roll off of participants’ tongues.
Your audience members give you the gift of their most precious assets—their time and their attention. What will they get in return?
Join the conversations in your audience members’ heads. Financial advisors come to my presentations with beliefs about working with doctors. Many had bad experiences. They make up stories about why they got their results, and they’re usually wrong. I can show them what the real problem is.
Unless I address those specific objections, they won’t believe me.
How well do you understand the conversations about wealth-building happening in doctors’ heads?
Build a bridge. In most cases when I speak, I show audience members how they can make a transition from their current undesired state to their desired state. The content and flow of the talk builds a bridge that crosses the divide.
You can begin with that image as you craft your talk.
Ask yourself, "What do my audience members need to know to take that next step with me?"
Tell stories. I attended what I call “media charm school” to become a better guest on radio shows. Again and again, hosts of these shows said the same thing, “Thanks for bringing such great stories!”
We are wired to learn through stories. Story telling is your single most powerful tool of persuasion.
I was helping a financial advisor craft a presentation for a large group of doctors. He showed me the presentation he had delivered many times. His slide deck was filled with words and numbers that were so small you couldn’t read them--even from the front row.
I said, “You have some great ideas in this talk. Let’s mix it up. What is your main point?” It took him a while to come up with it.
Then I asked, “What are the three most important things I need to know that support your main point?” Again, after some work we came up with them.
Then I asked this advisor to do some homework, and find three stories that illustrated each of the three points. Then we worked on the stories.
His talk was like a string of pearls-- and each pearl was a beautifully polished story.
He got stellar reviews. Many of the physicians commented on his stories.
As you think about your presentations, imagine your audience members whispering to you, “Tell me a story about when that happened—or didn’t happen.”
I like telling stories from my personal life. I usually write the events of the story on a 3X5 card. That’s just the beginning. I keep working them until they shine.
Don’t talk about suture material. When I treated patients with breast cancer, I helped them make tough decisions. I shared the information they needed to know to make informed choices.
My goal was not to groom them to be breast surgeons; that was my job. They didn’t need to know what kind of suture material I used.
As you communicate to your prospects and clients, are you relating the things they need to know to make good choices, or are you talking about the suture material?
“You had me at the cartoon.” Use pictures to illustrate your points. Paint word pictures.
I often use my very limited artist talents to draw cartoons. I usually include my “Navigating to Wealth” drawing in my slide deck. One participant said to me at this meeting, “You had me at the cartoon.”
Do you have a main point or a catch phrase that captures your value? If you were to draw a cartoon, how would you illustrate it?
Make the talk about the audience—not about you. Of course you want to further your business goals when you speak. You are more likely to do that when you serve your audience more effectively. See the world through their eyes.
These are all ideas that have served me whether I’m speaking to 100 people or 1000 people or one person.
The ability to persuade with your words is a critical skill that can always be taken to the next level.
What about you? What tricks have you learned that inspire people to take action?
As a medical billing services professional, you have a chance to help physicians take control of their financial destiny. You can enjoy many rewards when you help doctors make their dreams come true.
I'm here to support you if you do!
My best,
Dr. Vicki
Many participants said, “This is the BEST presentation I’ve ever heard!”
Believe me, this is not what audiences said when I started speaking professionally about two decades ago. I did not get great evaluations. Few people sitting in the audience invited me to give the same talk at their meetings.
But I had a message I wanted to get out there, so I invested in my speaking skills. I spent hours listening to great speakers. I joined the National Speaker’s Association and hired coaches and mentors. I became a serious student of the fine art of verbal persuasion.
Here are just a few lessons I’ve collected over the years. Hopefully they will serve you, too!
Know your purpose. Why are you speaking? What do you want your audience members to do differently as a result of hearing you speak?
Think of your presentation as a first date. Usually the goal of the talk is to inspire your ideal prospects to go out on a second date with you.
Have a main point. Imagine you’re at a meeting and you overhear two participants in the bathroom as they wash their hands. One says to the other, “Hey I missed Dr. Vicki’s presentation. What was it about?”
Ideally you have communicated your main point so clearly that your sound bites roll off of participants’ tongues.
Your audience members give you the gift of their most precious assets—their time and their attention. What will they get in return?
Join the conversations in your audience members’ heads. Financial advisors come to my presentations with beliefs about working with doctors. Many had bad experiences. They make up stories about why they got their results, and they’re usually wrong. I can show them what the real problem is.
Unless I address those specific objections, they won’t believe me.
How well do you understand the conversations about wealth-building happening in doctors’ heads?
Build a bridge. In most cases when I speak, I show audience members how they can make a transition from their current undesired state to their desired state. The content and flow of the talk builds a bridge that crosses the divide.
You can begin with that image as you craft your talk.
Ask yourself, "What do my audience members need to know to take that next step with me?"
Tell stories. I attended what I call “media charm school” to become a better guest on radio shows. Again and again, hosts of these shows said the same thing, “Thanks for bringing such great stories!”
We are wired to learn through stories. Story telling is your single most powerful tool of persuasion.
I was helping a financial advisor craft a presentation for a large group of doctors. He showed me the presentation he had delivered many times. His slide deck was filled with words and numbers that were so small you couldn’t read them--even from the front row.
I said, “You have some great ideas in this talk. Let’s mix it up. What is your main point?” It took him a while to come up with it.
Then I asked, “What are the three most important things I need to know that support your main point?” Again, after some work we came up with them.
Then I asked this advisor to do some homework, and find three stories that illustrated each of the three points. Then we worked on the stories.
His talk was like a string of pearls-- and each pearl was a beautifully polished story.
He got stellar reviews. Many of the physicians commented on his stories.
As you think about your presentations, imagine your audience members whispering to you, “Tell me a story about when that happened—or didn’t happen.”
I like telling stories from my personal life. I usually write the events of the story on a 3X5 card. That’s just the beginning. I keep working them until they shine.
Don’t talk about suture material. When I treated patients with breast cancer, I helped them make tough decisions. I shared the information they needed to know to make informed choices.
My goal was not to groom them to be breast surgeons; that was my job. They didn’t need to know what kind of suture material I used.
As you communicate to your prospects and clients, are you relating the things they need to know to make good choices, or are you talking about the suture material?
“You had me at the cartoon.” Use pictures to illustrate your points. Paint word pictures.
I often use my very limited artist talents to draw cartoons. I usually include my “Navigating to Wealth” drawing in my slide deck. One participant said to me at this meeting, “You had me at the cartoon.”
Do you have a main point or a catch phrase that captures your value? If you were to draw a cartoon, how would you illustrate it?
Make the talk about the audience—not about you. Of course you want to further your business goals when you speak. You are more likely to do that when you serve your audience more effectively. See the world through their eyes.
These are all ideas that have served me whether I’m speaking to 100 people or 1000 people or one person.
The ability to persuade with your words is a critical skill that can always be taken to the next level.
What about you? What tricks have you learned that inspire people to take action?
As a medical billing services professional, you have a chance to help physicians take control of their financial destiny. You can enjoy many rewards when you help doctors make their dreams come true.
I'm here to support you if you do!
My best,
Dr. Vicki
