Speaking With Impact
Entrepreneurs are constantly having to talk up their new ventures – to potential employees, partners, investors, media profilers. In so doing, they need to be authentic, engaging and memorable. Why them? Why now?
Make It Stick
There is no one right way to present to the world, but there are lessons to be learned from those who have wowed others with their presentational approach. In their best-selling book Made to Stick, Stanford Business School Professor Chip Heath and his brother Dan – Senior Fellow at Duke University’s CASE Center – analyze what it is that makes certain ideas stick. ‘Why do some ideas thrive while others die? How do we improve the chances of worthy ideas?’
Through their detailed analysis of research and real-life cases, the Heath Brothers come up with the SUCCES model.
Make it:
1. Simple
2. Unexpected
3. Concrete
4. Credible
5. Emotional
6. Stories
Speeches That Stuck
Take a look through some of these speeches, then choose two that particularly appeal to you. Or perhaps you’d like to consider other speeches that you admire.
i. What stands out about the presentation style of each of the 2 speakers you chose?
ii. How many elements in the SUCCES model did each of these speakers hit and how did they do so?
iii. What parts of your chosen speakers’ approach could you replicate while remaining true to who you are and appropriate to your context as an entrepreneur?
a. Martin Luther King. I Have a Dream. 1963
Top of mind for many when thinking about the most memorable speeches in history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDWWy4CMhE
b. Steve Job’s Stanford Commencement Speech. 2005
‘Stay hungry, stay foolish.’ Steve Jobs was known for his meticulous preparation for even the shortest presentations. Here he delivers a personal speech that continues to have great impact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc
c. JK Rowling’s Harvard Commencement Speech. 2011
It helps, of course, if much of the audience adores you coming in. Rowling, however, built a funny and inspiring speech about failure and imagination that stands well on its own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHGqp8lz36c
d. Ken Robinson. How Schools Kill Creativity. 2006
…’seeing our creative capacities for the richness they are and seeing our children for the hope that they are.’ Sir Ken Robinson’s speech continues to wear the crown of the most viewed TED videos.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity
e. Amy Cuddy. Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are. 2012
Ranking right there at the top of TED with Robinson is Social Psychologist Amy Cuddy talking about body positioning, gestures, gender, hormones and power.
http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are
As you think about presenting your venture to the world, you can also check out the Heath brothers more targeted companion to Made to Stick: Making presentations that stick.
http://heathbrothers.com/download/mts-making-presentations-that-stick.pdf