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Name: Secrets of Dynamic Communication
Rating: 4 (67 reviews)
Author: Ken Davis

Ken Davis

Prepare with focus, deliver with clarity, speak with power

4 (67 ratings)

18 mins

Brief summary

'Secrets of Dynamic Communication' by Ken Davis is a guidebook for public speaking that teaches the art of engaging and impactful communication. It provides practical tips and techniques to make speeches and presentations more compelling and memorable.

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Table of Contents

Secrets of Dynamic Communication
Summary of 8 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 8

What’s in it for me? Learn the recipe for moving, powerful speeches.

Fear of public speaking is common; some even fear it more than death. What’s more, even experienced speakers sometimes have trouble formulating their thoughts.

These blinks explore two problems relating to public speaking: how to prepare a speech effectively, and how to present it in a way that really moves the audience. At the core of successful speeches is a laser-like focus, and after reading these blinks you’ll master the author’s original and helpful SCORRE-method to define this focus.

In these blinks you’ll discover

why after a presentation, 70 percent of people don’t know what it was about;
how a touching story might ruin your performance if you’re not ready to improvise; and
why it’s always important to check that your fly is done up!

The secret to a powerful speech is focus.

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.

The SCORRE-method: To narrow the focus for your speech, choose a subject and a central theme.

Sitting down to write a speech can be incredibly overwhelming. How, for example, can we possibly choose where to begin talking about the ever-changing discipline of science or the universally discussed theme of love?

This is where the first part of the SCORRE-method comes in, by helping us narrow our passion into a subject that gives our speech focus.

The SCORRE-method: To determine the purpose and structure of your speech, you need an objective sentence.

You’d hardly think that a 10 to 15 minute speech could be boiled down to a one-liner. Think again! The objective sentence is a tool that does just that, and though it’s just a single sentence, it should also reflect careful choices in its construction. Why? It’s the essence of your speech, a vehicle for your overarching message and at the heart of the SCORRE-method.

The ingredients are threefold: a proposition, an interrogative question and answer, and a key word.

The SCORRE-method: Lay a solid foundation for your speech by using rationale, resources and evaluation

After successfully working through the first three letters of the SCORRE-method, we come to the two R’s and a final E - rationale, resources and evaluation.

If our speech were a house, then what we’ve achieved so far is perhaps its architectural plan. The design created through our subject, central theme and objective sentence requires a real and solid foundation to build on.

Finalize the speech by writing a captivating opening and an impressionable conclusion.

The SCORRE-method allows us to achieve the bulk of the hard work involved in creating a speech. However, by performing some further steps, we will be rewarded with a goosebump-inducing speech that sticks with the audience for days after. The opening and conclusion are vital tools in this way.

The first moments of your speech are arguably the most important, but don’t let this alarm you. All that is required of you is to take this chance to grab the audience’s attention in any original way, before briefly introducing the topic.

Dedicate time to your presentation and reap the rewards.

We all have limited time in our busy lifestyles, and you may be feeling a little reluctant to set aside substantial amounts to prepare your speech.

Certainly, the SCORRE processes of perfecting the objective sentence and interweaving an evaluated rationale with resources are time-consuming ones. But if you don’t give up time to create your presentation, why should anyone else want to give up his or her time to listen to it?

Know your audience and use all your tools to engage them – personal anecdotes, body language and the presentation space.

When giving a speech, think of your message as the product you’d like to sell. The audience is your customer – how are you going to engage them?

A speech isn’t all about performing. What’s more important is an awareness of what you’re trying to communicate and whom you’re trying to communicate to.

Make use of every tool to touch the emotions of your audience, including humor.

Now that we’ve considered the importance of the physical landscape that we present in, let’s turn our attention to the emotional landscape of our speech.

We can’t be sure that our audience will relate to every proposition in our speech. However, by engaging our audience on an emotional level, we can ensure that each audience member will connect with our presentation, regardless of his or her background or prior experiences.

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What is Secrets of Dynamic Communication about?

Secrets of Dynamic Communication explains how to prepare and present a speech effectively. Through the author’s own SCORRE-method, we are guided through the six key components of a successful speech: subject, central theme, objective, rationale, resources and evaluation.

Best quote from Secrets of Dynamic Communication

If you aim at nothing, you will hit nothing every time.

—Ken Davis

Who should read Secrets of Dynamic Communication?

Students and teachers
Pastors, executives and coaches
Anyone who wants to master public speaking

About the Author

Ken Davis is an American author and speaker. In addition, he is an educator of communication skills and radio show host.

Categories with Secrets of Dynamic Communication

Communication Skills Career & Success

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