Secrets of Dynamic Communication

Have you ever heard a speech that gave you goosebumps? Did you wonder how the speaker managed to affect you so deeply? The secret to a powerful speech is simple: focus.

Though it can be tempting to cram a speech with facts and statistics in order to convince your audience, that tactic will surely reduce the audience’s attention span.

This finding is reflected in a study conducted by the author. Of the 2,000 people surveyed, 70 percent were unable to recall the key messages of presentations they had just viewed. Even more surprisingly, 50 percent of the speakers were themselves unable to explain the purpose and motivation behind their own speeches.

In this way, it is clear that a speech that lacks focus will also lack impact. Instead, an effective presentation will first adhere to a specific goal, which is only then supplemented with information.

But how do we choose this goal? Making such a decision seems tough, but often we are able to do so without even thinking. Having objectives is part of human nature. It drives our instinctive ability to acquire food, shelter and ultimately survive.

Similarly, in writing a speech, our subconscious directs us to our objectives, even if we are not consciously aware of them. The trick is to become aware of this innate process. By taking a step back and reflecting on what it is we really want to communicate, we can harness the power of objectives and create a speech that leads directly to them.

In order to produce a presentation that has focus, our approach to writing it should also reflect focus. Davis’s SCORRE-method will allow us to create successful speeches by breaking it down into: subject, central theme, objective, rationale, resources and evaluation.