Mastering how, and when, to communicate
effectively is one of the most important skills one can learn....
"It's better to say nothing, than spend 1000 words or an hour speech saying nothing. Get to the point - fast" ~ Richard Branson
Advice
on giving speeches:
When
will people realize that a short speech is so much better than a long speech?
In the same way most business pitches can be done on the back of an envelope,
most of what anybody has to say of great note can fit on one side of paper.
As
somebody who is fortunate enough to be asked to stand onstage every now and
then, I am always very conscious of wanting to get across the message without
boring everybody to tears.
I’ve
written before about how nervous I still get when speaking in front of an
audience, and why it is always better to speak from the heart. Also, 90%
of the time it is better to ad-lib rather than read from contrived speech
notes. Even if you forget certain points you wanted to make, the people who are
listening always desperately want hear your passion, not just your theory.
Even
if you have been asked to do a serious speech, try to come up with witty lines
to make people laugh, especially at the beginning and end. Start making people
smile, have a laugh in the middle, be sure to include a bit of serious stuff
either side of that, but end on a smile. This is good advice for wedding
speeches in particular!
I
remember following somebody in Japan who droned on for two hours; I just looked
around and every single person was sound asleep. I'd been asked to do a one and
a half hour speech to follow up.
When
I saw what was happening, I wouldn't do a speech at all; I got on stage and
asked the audience to interact with me. After 40 minutes I left on a high,
everyone was enjoying it - and was awake!
The
organizers were looking rather annoyed and ordered me back onstage, but I
successfully argued it was better to end on a high note than keep to a time
limit.
What
I learned from that was never to do a formal speech. Now I do Q&A sessions
to raise funds for our not-for-profit foundation Virgin Unite, and try to get people involved. I just take
whatever comes, whether it is serious questions, jokes or business pitches. If
somebody wants a photo, I invite them up, I have a laugh with them. If somebody
tries to sell something to me, I let the audience judge business ideas.
~Richard
Branson
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