RSS Feed
The Longer Speech
September 4th, 2012
by Bill Boyajian

In the last few weeks we’ve looked at how to introduce a speaker, how to present an award, and how to accept an award. Now let’s look at the longer speech. If you’re like most people, being up in front of a crowd is often times nerve-racking and sometimes scary. To help ease your anxiety, the next time you are giving a speech, keep the following in mind…

The Longer Speech: You may not like to give speeches, but even those who turn most of them down will still be stuck once in a while having to give a speech. It’s best to be prepared, know what to do, and how to use visual aids to provide “take-home value” for your audience.

Every speech, no matter how brief or long, must have an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. Every speech must have an attention-getter at the outset (and I don’t mean a joke) and a preview of what you are going to talk about. The main body of your talk is the bulk of what you will say. It is followed by a conclusion, which summarizes the body of your speech, and closes with a memorable statement that stays with your audience. In any presentation, think of your introduction and conclusion as 20 percent of what you will say, with 80 percent allocated to your discussion. Remember this short formula: Tell them what you’re going to say (the introduction), tell it to them (the discussion), and then tell them what you told them (the conclusion).

Communication is all about listening with the intent of understanding and conveying thoughts in writing and speaking with the goal of being understood. It is more than the mere words we hear and say. It’s about how we listen and say things, why we say what we do, and whether we are in phase with those with whom we listen and speak. Communication is one of the keys to life and to leading. Take it seriously and see your leadership grow.



Tags: , , , , , ,

“I needed help orchestrating a succession plan for our business. I had heard that Bill Boyajian specialized in assisting owners to transition their business to the next generation. He knows how to bridge the generation gap and deliver what each needs to hear. I would recommend Bill to any business owner who needs advice on succession planning from a trusted outside professional.”

–Charles Denaburg,
Managing Partner,
Levy’s Fine Jewelry
Birmingham, AL

"Our family needed some guidance on business transition and succession planning. We asked Bill Boyajian to help us because we knew we could trust him to tell us what we needed to hear. Bill became a valuable resource for our company and our entire family. He has the ability to meet each of us where we’re at and it has served us very well."

–Ceylon Leitzel
Leitzel Fine Jewelry
Hershey & Myerstown, PA

“We needed a plan to transition our business to a non-family member and we asked Bill Boyajian to help us. His experience in the area has really paid off, but we didn’t expect the added value of putting us together with a financial planner who helped organize our retirement needs. We now have the fundamentals to transition our business successfully, and we have Bill to thank for it.”

–Ernie & Debbie Cummings
Kizer-Cummings Jewelers
Lawrence, KS