If there’s one surefire way to bore your audience into submission…

…It’s to deliver a speech that’s big on detail and hell bent on connecting every dot you think could be germane.

“But isn’t being thorough a good thing?”

“If you’re asked to speak at an event because you’re an expert, won’t people expect you to cover all the bases?”

Yes, of course, on both counts.

Don’t get me wrong. Detail has its place and is important in most every workplace and profession. The maxim that ‘retail is detail’ applies to myriad industries and circumstances.

But that’s never an excuse to treat a speech as a means to regurgitate or, worse still, dissect material you might include in the body of a business report.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts – If you take this tack, you run the risk that:

• You will speak for far too long
• Most of what you say will be instantly forgotten
• Your material will be dry, corporate and lacking in energy

Never Derail Your Speech With Detail…Here’s a Better Plan

Leave details to when your audience members have the time, means and the will to both study these and do something with the information. If you need to share complex idea, lashings of figures or wads of information – do this offline.

When making a speech that lasts for say 15 or even 30 minutes…

…Think more like the writer of a short story than a novel when you speak.

Don’t overload your audience with data dumps. You’ll waste their time and yours.

Your job as a speaker is to lead and inspire.

Forget about forensic and focus instead on:

• A central idea that matters to your audience
• Why they should care
• What needs to happen next

And if that means you hold court for a shorter time…Great, your audience will thank you and feel better served.

Lucky them and lucky you.

Over to You

Share your thoughts, observations or experiences. I’d love to hear from you.

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