I recently had a session with a client in which he was practicing his speech.
The final delivery.
We had already worked hard on the story and on the content. In which, to my liking, the content tilted too often and too much toward information, interpretation and explanation.
And I kept wanting more story: the people in this story, who are they, what drives them, what are they going through. Why do I need to know?
At the previous practice session there was life, drive, presence. And was I along for the ride.
Not so in this practice session. I didn’t feel it.
I wrote down:
‘Allow the audience to enter the story.’
Way too much explanation.
You don’t feel it.
Because: he was too much in his head.
He had felt it too. I see this with almost all of my clients.
Focus on: I can’t forget anything, tendency to explain a lot, broadly and deeply. Too distracted too.
Then you start speaking from thought and get stuck in your head, and your story is not going to have the impact it deserves.
What does work: daring to be fully present in the moment. Stepping inside of your story.
Daring to connect with your audience. Then you start attracting attention. You start inspiring, touching, influencing.
Then that magic is created. Then it becomes fun.
My client will be OK, it was a good thing for things to go south, in order to create clarity about the essence of things. To grab attention, to captivate and to engage.
Your speaking begins with you. Simple, but not easy.