MMM: 185 - Making the Point of Your Talk Clear - 7/7 test

Hey everybody, and welcome to This Moved Me, a podcast about creating talks that move the world. Episode 185 on making sure the point is clear, the 7-7 test. With me, your host, Sally Koering Zimney. Together with some fabulous guests, we will have a casual conversation about the art of public speaking, because a good talk can move the world, and it'll be fun. Yeah, I would think making alien cows meaningful, that's not a small task. I love your giggle. Wow. Oh my gosh, just waiting for everybody to figure out the alphabet. Hey movers, welcome to another episode of This Moved Me. Before we dive in, I want to give you an update on the website because I've been talking about this for a long time and it is coming along. We are T-minus 1 week, 7 days. That's right, in 1 week I will have a new website up and out into the world and I'm super jazzed about it. The biggest shift, I'm making a big shift from my, what my website is right now, which is kind of just a place where you can come and you can like listen to a show if you can find it, but it's kind of hard to find, and you can learn a little bit about me, and it's fine, it's fine. But I decided at some point in the last year that I really wanted to make a shift in my business and to change my website to become more of a resource, a platform that really serves you, that can be a resource for you, a place where you can go, get your questions questions answered. And I have to tell you, I'm, I'm really excited and feeling a little nervous and a little bit overwhelmed because of course what's happening at the same time that all of this is happening is we're moving. So, whoa, of course, because everything happens at the same time. Really, but, but I kind of feel like that is how big change happens. Is things come in these big waves that really help push you to the next place. So I am feeling the wave, and I'm trying to ride that wave, and it's generally been amazing. And I like being challenged, I like the push, I like, uh, being driven by a vision. And that's really what this has been. It's been really driven by this vision. So, it's been a huge spring and summer. It's been really, really busy doing some coaching work, and I have to tell you, I have, together with my speakers, we've launched some amazing talks out into the world. A talk about the power of trade, if we do it responsibly, that was fascinating because I don't really know that much about trade, so it was really, really interesting, and I I became so jazzed about it, about the potential of how it can help the world, that I thought that was super cool. Uh, I helped create a talk about the power of our personal purpose and brand, right? How it can— when we know ourselves really well, well, how it can ignite our lives in powerful ways. A talk about workforce development and how engineering can help solve gender and racial equity challenges. What? I know, so cool. Helped launch a talk about fear and how we can't live the lives we're meant to live without it and without getting through it. Mm, interesting. A talk about workplace culture and that being, quote unquote, happy at work is not a soft and fuzzy and frivolous thing. It's actually essential. Oh my gosh, that's just like just the little bit of what I have had the honor and privilege of working on, and it has been so fun. And really, like, that's what I love about this work is that it's idea-based, and I get to help launch ideas out into the world and people as they are owning their ideas. It's been really, really cool. And these ideas, the ideas and what I've just talked about, as you heard, these are powerful ideas and way more complicated than the little bit I was able to just give you right there. And I mean, summarizing like that, like that, that's not easy because of course there's way more to it than that. These talks are not just about any one thing. They're connected to this whole web of ideas. It brings up other things. And these are experts who want to share their expertise in like 20 minutes or 45 minutes, right? It gets messy and less clear really, really fast, which brings me to the purpose of this week's show. So I've been running into a challenge with many of my speakers, and that is this: articulating clearly the point of their talk. Now, they know their talk, they know what it's about, they're experts in it, they're passionate about it, But their talk is either about way more than one thing, right? It's just they're trying to tackle too much, or they're struggling to find the words that most clearly and succinctly and powerfully articulate the point, right? We want it to be emotive, aspirational, meaningful, urgent, and we've got to do it fast and simply. What? Like, this is a huge challenge. And of course, like, it makes so much sense that we struggle with this because any good idea, an idea that's a good idea, is an idea that's trying to articulate something new, right? And those ideas are going to be especially complicated because we're oftentimes, as we're creating a talk, we're figuring it out as we go. We're charting new territory, we're trying on words, we're trying on the ideas, we're staking out new ground, we're employing new metaphors which can open up different connections, we're finding our stories that help them make sense to create new meaning. I mean, this is really big, important, deep work. But I do think it's at the core of what we do because at its most basic level, we as speakers are meaning makers. As we bring our talks out to the world, right? That is what we're really all about. We're bringing new meaning to ideas and new connections to those ideas. So here is the challenge that we have for us as speakers: to take our complicated idea and make it easily understood without dumbing it down too much, right? So what we're going for when we are talking about the point of our talk is we're going for clarity, we're going for meaningful, and we're going for intriguing, right? We want people to go, "Ooh, cool, awesome, that sounds great." So how do you know when you've got it clear, meaningful, and intriguing? So this is where I introduce to you the 7/7 test, and I just made that up. It's not like a thing. I just made it a thing. That's what I do. I make things things. So if you can articulate the point of your talk in 7 seconds so that a 7-year-old can understand it and wants to know more. Man, that is a difficult challenge, but I think that's what we've got to be aiming for. So last week I was being interviewed for the World of Speakers podcast, which is cool. I hadn't heard of it because I'm too busy making shows to go and listen to other ones, which is a problem, I know. But I'm talking with Ryan, the host, and he— one of the things that he does on his show is he always asks everyone, what is the problem that you solve? And for the life of me, I was like, I think I know what the problem that I solve is. But then when I said it, he was like, mm, I don't know if that's it. Like, dig deeper, come at it this way. And it was good. It kind of had a little session with me. It was a little embarrassing, of course, because I'm supposed to be really good at that. But Ryan was like, "Everybody struggles with this. Everybody struggles." And of course, that resonated with me too, with my speakers, where we struggle again and again to articulate clearly the point and impact of our talk. So we have to get to a point where our talks our ideas, our purpose, our direction really flows from one thing, right? That one point, that clear articulation. And here, here's why it's really important that we do this. Number one is because your audience needs it. The brain does not like to work hard. That's true for adults, probably even more so than with kids, because as adults we get more and more distracted and overwhelmed. So we as speakers have to as clearly and as quickly as possible identify and categorize the idea for our speakers. And I say categorize because that is what the brain does. It hears something and then it files it away. It goes, "Dink, dink, dink. Oh, it's this. Oh, it's that. Oh, it's that." And so we have to help create those associations and connections for them quickly in the way that we want them to do that, right? So what that means is that what we say shouldn't have to bounce around in their brain very long or for very much, right? So it should go from you to your audience's brain, and then— and here's my push— straight down to their heart, right? That's what we're going for. The quicker they can understand and care about the idea, the more likely it is that they will take it on for themselves or be interested or ask for the next step on this. So that's the first reason. Your audience really does need us to be as clear and concise as possible. Number 2, our clarity is an incredibly powerful filter as your main editing tool. Does this fit in this talk or not? I say that it's kind of like, no duh, but most of the time when I'm working with speakers, what I'm doing is helping figure out, helping my speakers figure out what this talk is really about. Because oftentimes there's more than one talk in a talk. Most of my episodes, I realize as I'm recording them, have more than one episode in each episode, right? Which is an editing problem. That's my editing problem. And I've said many, many times that I think editing is one of the most underutilized and underappreciated skills that we need as speakers. Because if you can get your filter clear and you can be a powerful editor, it makes a huge difference, not just on the clarity and the power of your talk, but it's— it can be a differentiator. It can be articulating your personal point of view, your brand, your new insight. I mean, it is, it is at the heart and core of how we make meaning. And so we have to— we want to start with a powerful filter. That can be a huge asset in, in the editing process. And the third reason why it's so important is that it makes delivering it so much easier. If you can get clear about your talk, the process of integrating it into your body and your mind is alleviated by Like about a million percent, which is a real stat. So the simpler and more clear the idea, the simpler and more clear the approach and the delivery will be, because your brain load is way less. So it's less for your audience and it's less for you, and that really matters. It's a win-win-win, right? It's a win for your audience, it's a win for your process, and it's a win for the final delivery as you show up in the moment. So most of us, just as a big, big disclaimer here, most of us can't get clear right away, right? Like, it's a process because of course as we are making our talks and creating our talks, it is a creative endeavor and it takes all kinds of twists and turns and you're peeling the onion and you're getting deeper and deeper and clearer and clearer the more you go on. Right? So I just want you to be patient with yourself. If you've been working on something, you're like, "I'm not clear yet. I don't quite have it yet," but you know you're getting close, just keep circling in, keep having conversations with people, keep digging deeply, keep asking questions, keep questioning yourself, and, and in that process, it will get clearer and clearer. But the key thing I want you to take away with from this episode is that you've got to start with that intention. Start with the goal to get really clear, to be able to articulate your talk, the point of your talk, in 7 seconds for a 7-year-old, right? So they can understand it simply and quickly and that they want to know more, right? And oftentimes what I'll do with my speakers as we're working together is just the first go, I'll say, what's the point of this talk? Let's just throw something up on the board. And 9 times out of 10, it changes. Okay, so just know that. But, but if when we start with that intention, then it becomes a really useful driver and filter for us as we go on. Okay, so I want to share with you what I think the point of my TEDx talk is, and I haven't timed it yet, so I'm pulling out my stopwatch here and we're gonna time it. My 7 seconds, my 7-7, 7 seconds for a 7-year-old to hopefully understand quickly. I don't think I'm there yet, but I think I'm pretty close. Okay, so this is for my TEDx talk. And if you haven't seen it yet, I'd love for you to see it and send me feedback. Tell me what you think. I'll put the link in the show notes. Okay, so I've got my timer ready and I'm gonna see how long this is. Ready? Here we go. And go. Most of us think speaking is about being perfect and polished, which is really boring. My talk is about transforming our approach to be more fully human as speakers. Ah, shoot, that's 10 seconds. All right, let's try it again. Hmm, let's see, how could I adjust that to get even clearer? I can take out the really boring part, but I actually think what I kind of like about that is that it gives the emotive, like, oomph to it. Okay, I could get more directive with it. Let's see, I could do something like, speaking— perfect and polished speaking— perfect speaking is really boring. Oh, see, that's more direct, more clear, and statements, right? Perfect speaking is really boring. So my talk is about transforming our approach to be more fully human. As speakers. I wonder if I could say fully and imperfectly human. Ooh, let's try that. Okay, what did I just say? Uh, perfect speaking is boring. It's really boring. Let's see if I can get away with that. My talk is about transforming Now that's a questionable word for a 7-year-old, but I like it, so I'm gonna stick with it. My talk is about transforming our approach to be more fully and imperfectly human. The speakers. Hmm, okay, let's see. Ready? Should we see how this goes? Reset. Here we go. Perfect speaking is really boring. My talk is about transforming our approach to be more fully and imperfectly human as speakers. Oh, better. That was 8. Close enough. I could just say, transform— perfect speaking is really boring. My talk's about transforming our approach to be more fully to be imperfectly— what if I just said approach to be imperfectly human as speakers? Mine talks about transforming our approach to be imperfectly human as speakers perfectly, but I wanted to like not just— but there's an upside to it, it's wonderful. To be imperfectly, wonderfully human as speakers. I like the wonderfully because it says, oh, it's great, happy times. Okay, all right guys, let's try this. Reset. I don't think that's shorter. Maybe— can I get away with cutting as speakers? Maybe. Here we go. Okay, let's see what happens, see what you think. And go. Perfect speaking is really boring, so my talk is about transforming our approach to be imperfectly, wonderfully human. Oh, 7 seconds, baby! Hm, now let's see if that's impactful. Let's see if that's effective. I don't know, what did you think? Perfect speaking is really boring, so my talk is about transforming our approach to be imperfectly wonderfully human. Let's just admit that most of the time we have more like 15 seconds, right? But I think it's a really good exercise to go through to decide what is the thing that you can boil it down to? If you, if you could make it as succinct and as clear as possible, what would you say? What goes and what stays? Like, use this as a tiny little editing exercise because it will force you to make some choices about what the most important pieces are. Okay, so, um, good. I hope that was helpful. For you. Because even though I, you know, 7 seconds, it's tough. It's really, really tough, but I think it's a really good exercise. All right, my friends, that is it for me. Sorry, you can hear me pounding on my computer, but it just goes to show you, I, I workshopped my own 7-7 test right here on the show. I hope you enjoyed that. Okay, now I would like to hear from you. What is your 7/7 test? Give it a go. I'd love for you to share it with me. So I'm gonna post this on Instagram, and in the comments, I want you to tag @thismovedme, but also, of course, let me know what your 7/7 test statement is. All right, see if you can pass the 7/7 test, and if you've got some challenges, maybe we can help each other out in that. I think that That would be fantastic. And I'm gonna do the same thing over on the This Moved Me Facebook page, okay? So when I post this show over on Facebook, we'll start a little 77 Test Challenge. Let's do it. 77 Test Challenge, hashtag something or other. I'll figure that out. Okay, you guys, thanks so much for joining me on the show today. T-minus 1 week to a brand new website. Oh my gosh, I can't wait. I'm really, really excited. Be on the lookout. I've got some really cool things coming your way. Talk soon. Have a great one. This moved me. What is moving you? Go and move the world with your talks. Check you later. Yep, I talk for a living.