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Cornerstones of Speaking

 

What I really enjoyed about both videos by Treasure (2016) and Charisma On Command (2016) is that they gave me further examples of how to successfully pull off a great presentation. Through the use of humor, love and key phrases, the videos act as another reminder of the myriad of elements presenters can use to make a solid presentation. Although you’ll notice I’ve used the following format before in my blogs, it allows me to best represent what useful information I will use in my future presentations.

Capturing attention

The actor Kevin Hart is a professional attention grabber and it is highlighted in the video (2016). Kevin uses key phrases, such as “let me tell you why” and “let me explain” so that the audience knows what to expect and that they should prepare for it. I like this because it fills the need to do something or say something to the audience so that they pay attention, especially before you begin talking about the subject of the conversation.

Humor

Kevin is also a standup comedian and through the use of humor, he keeps the audience engaged throughout his set. Even when the audience or people he is speaking to keep interrupting him, he doesn’t proceed with his dialog until they’ve stopped talking. This is an excellent example of patience and pause and I can now see how important it is to take this step when presenting. You don’t want the audience to miss the information you’ve giving, but you can’t just stop cold turkey. You must pause at the right moment and use those key phrases like “listen, listen, listen” so that people know something is coming.

7 deadly sins and 4 cornerstones

Treasure (2016) discusses the 7 deadly sins of presenting, which are gossip, judging, negativity, complaining, excuses, exaggeration and dogmatism. Conversely, Treasure says the 4 cornerstones with presenting are honesty, authenticity, integrity and love (HAIL). Rather than use the deadly sins to guide me during a presentation, I would rather use HAIL, as it suits my personality much better. I like to be able to connect to the audience through HAIL and it gives me the energy to stay at a high level during my speech.

The last step

I loved how Kevin Hart tells the audience that he is about to conclude his set before he does it. This acts as another attention grabber by informing the audience the show is coming to its conclusion. This allows Kevin to get the audience engaged one last time and helps him deliver the last punchline or comment with all ears listening. If you want to hit the nail on the head in your speech and end on a high note, this is the way to do it.

References

Charisma On Command. (2016, Feb 22). Kevin Hart’s 3 secrets to hilarious storytelling. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn_L4OPU_rg&feature=emb_logo

Treasure, J. (2016, May 18). Hot to speak so that people want to listen. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=165&v=dEkEAFaV818&feature=emb_logo

 

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