Image Credit: 401(K) 2012
Let’s face it: sometimes we are asked to talk about complicated topics. As though the process of giving a speech was not tough enough, now we have to find a way to explain a complicated topic to our audience in a way that will hold their attention while communicating what we want to tell to them. Clearly this is not going to be an easy thing to do. A great example of a potentially difficult topic to talk about is finance. Anything to do with money is of great interest to our audience. However, if we do a poor job of giving a speech like this we’re going to lose them. What’s the right way to give a speech about money?
Understanding How To Talk About Money
As speakers, I think that we all know who Warren Buffett is. He is currently one of the richest men in the world. It tuns out that he is also a very good speaker. This was not always the case. However, when he was first starting out in the securities business in Omaha, Nebraska, he understood the importance of public speaking. What he realized was that he needed to be comfortable speaking in front of groups if he hoped to win over new clients. When he was first staring out, the act of public speaking terrified him. He was able to conquer his fear by enrolling in public speaking courses and forcing himself to teach night courses at the local community college. As speakers we need to understand that Warren believes that public speaking is the most important skill for anyone who hopes to enjoy a successful career in finance and business to have.
So, if we find ourselves in a situation where we have been asked to give a speech on money and finances, just exactly how should we go about doing this? I think that we can all agree that the ability to deliver financial information in a way that is clear, informative and relevant to audiences is the key to a successful speech. We need to make sure that we respect everyone’s time. What this means for speakers that is that when we give a speech there should always be an agenda. We should make sure and provide an agenda at the start of every speech and show that we are respectful of our audience’s time.
We also have to be sure to take the time to listen to our audience. We want to let the audience and their needs lead our speech. If we take the time to understand what they need from our speech, then we’ll be able to distill complex financial ideas, making it easier for audience’s to see the big picture. In the end, it all comes down to how we explain complex things to our audience. Speakers need to help audiences visualize complex financial information. When we talk about money we need to come across as being passionate, authentic and communicate in simple terms in order to explain complex financial information.
Secrets To Successfully Talking About Money
In order to do a good job of talking with an audience about money, a speaker needs to have certain qualities. If we have these qualities, then our speech is going to be able to connect with our audience and we’ll be able to share our view point with them. Everything starts with passion. When giving a speech, passion is everything. Great communicators dig deep to identify their true passion. Remember that if you want to strike a universal chord with your audience and get everybody’s blood pumping, you’ve got to appeal to their hearts before you appeal to their brains. Otherwise, you will end up putting them to sleep. If you can find a way to involve their emotions, then your speech will now have passion.
Next, your speech will need to have authenticity. What this means is that you will need to convince your audience that you are exactly the same person off stage as you are on. You will want to be just as animated in your conversations with people before your speech as you are during your speech. This means that you use the same phrases that you will be using during your speech. Authentic speakers are able to connect with their audience on a deeper, more meaningful level.
Finally, you need to bring simplicity to your speech. One thing that you are not going to want to do is to speak in the jargon that is so common in the financial industry. Instead, you are going to want to speak in simple terms. Your audience will see that you have the courage to speak simply and that will make all the difference. Too many speakers want to impress audiences with their information so that others think the speaker is intelligent. As a speaker, your goal should be to empower your audience. If the intention of your speech is to impart a message that will create change for the people listening, then it’s respectful to those people to make the message as simple as possible. We need to understand that it’s not the advice that will make you influential – it’s the way that you package it.
What All Of This Means For You
Let’s face it: there are a number of topics that can be very difficult to give speeches on. It turns out that money and finance is one such topic. If we’re not careful, the jargon and the complexity of how money moves around can cause us to quickly lose an audience. As speakers, if we’re going to be talking about money, we need to make sure that we know how to do it.
Warren Buffet is a very wealthy man. He believes that the ability to do a good job of giving a speech is a critical skill when it comes to dealing with money. If we are going to be speaking to an audience about money, we have to be careful to be respectful of their time. We have to take the time and listen to our audience and make sure that we help our audience to see the big picture. When we give a speech about money we have to bring passion to it. We have to come across as being authentic. When we are explaining things to our audience, we have to make it seem simple.
Just about everyone is interested in money. Having the ability to give a speech on money that people will want to come to is a great skill to have. In order to develop this skill, we need to understand what people want to get out of a speech on money and then we have to deliver it to them. Take the time to understand your audience and what they are looking for and then give them a great speech on money!
– Dr. Jim Anderson
Blue Elephant Consulting –
Your Source For Real World Public Speaking Skills™
Question For You: How long do you think that a speech on money should be?
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Note: What we talked about are advanced speaking skills. If you are just starting out I highly recommend joining Toastmasters in order to get the benefits of public speaking. Look for a Toastmasters club to join in your home town by visiting the web site www.Toastmasters.org. Toastmasters is dedicated to helping their members to understand the importance of public speaking by developing listening skills and getting presentation tips. Toastmasters is how I got started speaking and it can help you also!
What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time
Speakers are always looking for ways to make their next speech even better. We’ll read books, watch videos, and ask friends for advice. Our ultimate goal is always to find a way to keep our audience’s attention on us and what we are saying. What’s interesting about all of this is that it turns out that doing so may be easier than any of us have realized. In order to keep our audience’s attention all we have do during our next speech is pause.