|
He’s short. His
clothes don’t fit. And he’s bald.
He also gets paid
more than
$50,000 for a speech. He is Seth Godin, bestselling author of
“All Marketers Are Liars” and several other hit marketing books.
If you want to get
a feel for why he commands so much for his speaking engagements,
check out this video of a speech given to the
folks at Google.
The speech is lesson in how to give a great business presentation.
He does several things well: Delivers a simple, meaningful message;
tells wonderful personal stories; speaks with passion; and
illustrates his message with simple slides.
A Simple Meaningful
Message:
No one is a great speaker if they don’t have a great message.
Godin’s message is simple: marketing is about the story that the
product tells. In a funny story about “Fancy Feast” cat food, Godin
shows how the product allows the cat owner to tell herself a little
story about how she’s giving the cat a satisfying gourmet cat meal.
Most importantly, notice how he keeps coming back to the simple
idea. That simple idea makes the overall presentation hold together
wonderfully.
Personal stories:
Nothing beats personal stories. Godin’s presentation is full of
them. One of our favorites in this presentation is the one about the
woman at the fruit stand who stopped him when he was wearing a
Google t-shirt and said to him: “Google is my friend.” If you want
to get people to love you and your presentation, tell a story
involving yourself that is relevant to your audience’s interest.
Speaking with
passion:
The best speakers seem to be having a great time. Godin is no
exception. You can really hear the excitement in his voice as he
talks about how Hallmark sells $100 million worth of Christmas
ornaments in July. Perhaps the most important thing that most
people in business must do to improve is to speak with greater
passion.
Simple slides:
For those that insist on slides with lots of bullet points, take
note of Godin’s slides. If he has text on the slides – and he
rarely does – he has only a few very large words. Most of his slides
are large photographs that tell stories.
At Speechworks we
help our clients learn how to communicate in a way that connects and
persuades. If you’re interested in becoming a great communicator
give us a call at 404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net. |
