Ep. 203 Your Audience Helps You Write Your Speech?

Mark, the audience write your speech. What? How do they help write it if they're listening? I don't get it.

Well, there are ways we can tell that the audience actually helped us and I've used some of these. Let's talk about that today. How the audience helps you write your speech.

Anyone can give a presentation. Few deliver unforgettable presentations. What's the difference? You're about to find out. Welcome to the Unforgettable Presentations podcasts with your hosts, world champion speakers and coaches, Mark Brown.

Mark Brown, your life tells a story and there's someone out there who needs to hear it.

And Darren Lacroix. And Darren Lacroix.

Stage time. Stage time. Stage time.

Ready for some powerful presentation. Ahas, let's dive right in.

Oh, I get it. That's there. There's so many ideas that come up. But Mark, let me dive right in first. My favorite, as you know, is the pre call. So I literally, as we were getting ready to record, had a email come in for a keynote that I have next week based on a pre event call. So on that pre event call I talked to the event planner and I'm gonna ask for a list of 10 names. I'm going to reach out to all of them with permission. I probably will only talk to five or six, but those five or six, I'm going to get confirmation from some on what's top of mind, what's frustrating them, what are their big challenges now today that I can reference so they'll know I'm not some outsider bringing in a canned speech, throwing it at them and jumping on a plane and leaving that in fact I'm taking the time to get to know them, which immediately they start talking to each other. So it starts spreading the word. But in terms of helping them write my speech, I get ideas and stories from them that I plug into my Patricia Fripp speech model from our book Deliver unforgettable Presentations. I literally plug them in. If you know the model, this will make sense. If you don't get the book and then you'll know. Each point of wisdom has three pieces of evidence, as we call it. While I pull out the third piece of evidence that I usually say and I plug in their story. Now it's direct confirmation for the point that I'm making with an example from someone who's sitting in the room. So number one is doing a pre call, talking to people ahead of time. You could, even if you knew on LinkedIn or Facebook, you could post a question out there specifically to let's say I'm talking to financial planners. What are your challenges or what some of the subjects or what do people need to know as financial planners? So by the way, we always need to use logic and if we're not sure about something, check with the economic buyer, make sure it makes sense to them because they're the one bringing you in, they're the one paying the bill. But pre calls, getting to know the audience, having a few conversations with them, and we're talking five, ten minutes tops. Sometimes I'll really connect with someone and I'll ask them permission to keep going. Well, if I have that chemistry and they have the time, yeah, they're having fun. They're talking to the speaker guy or the speaker lady. So for sure, those pre calls is one way before you create that presentation. And by the way, we don't want to rewrite the whole presentation based on what they're saying. We want to be aware, but see how we infuse it or incorporate it into what we were going to say anyway. That we're used to saying we don't have to, we don't want to learn a whole new presentation for this one time. But we can customize it really well by taking the time to have them, people who will be in the audience, help them write my speech.

Yeah, that's very good, Darren. Because an audience, when they know you customize to serve them, they're that much more receptive to your presentation. There is a different side of the coin though, Darren. There is a case where someone has heard your presentation, it's great, they refer you to somebody else and you get a chance to deliver the same speech to a different audience. What I have learned is, and I have given the same keynote to different audiences in different industries for a number of years, as has Darren. But there are times you listen to what the audience says to you, sometimes in passing, sometimes by email, and sometimes in the hallway about what really resonated. And that tells you, oh, I need to drill down on that point a little bit more. Or they may say, you know, that was a really good story, really made the point. But what happened to Charlie in the end, though, I won't be clear on that. And you may believe you've closed the loop, but someone or some 5 or some 23 tell you what happened to Charlie. Oh, I didn't really close that loop.

Okay.

The next time I tell this story and deliver this presentation, I'm going to make sure it's absolutely clear what happened to Charlie. It's a simple Example, But I've learned at times, people have said to me, you know, that didn't quite come off the way I think you planned for it. And I heard this, and we're so close to our own presentation. We've done it so much, and nobody said anything, but all of a sudden, your mind now. I hadn't thought of that. I think I told you that I was doing a program. One time I talked a story about my dad and how meaningful it was to me. And I always get the oohs and the odds and how sweet. And I. Someone gave me a different reaction to the story of my dad. He said, you know what? I don't know what that's like, because my dad was never that way for me. And for years, I've told that story of how cool my dad was. And when this individual told me about his experience, it made me realize I need to adjust story. I need to expand the point to consider those who may not share my experience. And they really helped me to change my speech in a way that was much more meaningful, much more impactful, because then my remarks were able to embrace those who didn't share my specific experience, but it was meaningful to them. So one of the keys is we need to be receptive to what our audience tells us, because sometimes it's not being critical, it's really being educational. And how we receive what they tell us can really help us enhance the presentation. So the next time we do it, it's even better. For those of you who are toastmasters, that's called an evaluation, which isn't always as productive as we would like. But just think of comments in terms of. Darren Lacroix always says this, how can I do it better? How can I do it better? And in the real world, I don't mean to offend anyone. In the real world, presentations you give them professionally more than once. Pro speakers do not write a different keynote every single time they speak. You know, or 30 years, it doesn't happen. We have our signature programs, but we can adjust and modify them. And Darren, very quickly, there are ways you can. Your audience helps you write your speech in the moment, on the fly, based upon their reactions to what you say. You've told me you've had similar experiences where you see the heads go up, you see the heads nod, you see the heads go down. I'm writing this down. And you go, oh, I need to drill down on that point, because that resonates. How would you advise our listeners regarding that particular experience, Darren?

Mark, I want to Emphasize and hold up something you said, but give it a twist. I think you will love this. What you're saying is, we need to listen between the lines. You've heard that. Read between the lines. Well, as a presenter, we need to listen and observe between the lines. What are they saying? Even if it's after the presentation and people come up and talk to you, keep the recorder going. If, you know, we talk about recording yourself and audio and an MP3 for having a client history, as well as getting feedback after, and listen to the questions they're asking you. Listen to the comments and listen between the lines. But also during the presentation, observe between the lines. What this is, what Mark's saying is, what is the visual cue that tells you good or bad or confusion? Like if all of a sudden you see a third of the audience glaze over, you lost them, and it's okay to pause and say, where did I lose you? Because if you pretend that that didn't happen, you are forgettable. We're trying to teach you how to be unforgettable. So a lot of times our audience is going to teach us in the moment an adjustment we need to make, but also more likely, they're going to give us a clue to make it better for the next time we tell that story. Just like you said, Mark, where the gentleman made you realize that not everybody had loving, caring dad. Now, you can still tell the same story, but you might set it up differently by saying, now, maybe you didn't have a caring, loving dad, but maybe someone else in your life did. For me, it was my dad. Now you are bridging that gap, but at the same time, you're telling your story. And, Mark, I think what you're alluding to is when I won the world championship and I started speaking, my original keynote for toastmasters and presenters was chump to champ habits that I learned. And one of the ideas that I had was this thing called your cherry tree effect. And by the way, this is actually like a great part two. If you didn't hear part one last week, even though we're not labeling that, last week we talked about, how do you know if you're unforgettable? Well, check out last week's episode. This is going a little different direction, a little deeper. But I noticed this is what I mean by observe between the lines. I noticed whenever I would talk about my cherry tree effect that I would say to the audience, what is that? I would go on and explain it related to my Dr. Goddard story, but then I would say, here's what I'm saying to you. Before you write the speech, ask yourself this. What do I want my audience to think about differently when I'm done? And I would almost have more than half the audience almost every time, pick up their pen and go down and write that one down. That was a keeper. But I could visually see every time I delivered that line, some of the audience, maybe it was a third, but a lot of them got it. But some of them physically picked up their pen and wrote that down. I knew that one was a keeper. You want to know more about keepers, check out last week's episode. But that was a keeper. But what I realized, it was so strong, Mark. And it was in the middle of my speech. And what I thought was a great ending was a good ending. But what I did is I pulled out this piece and I moved it. Structure. We're talking about structure change. Pulled it out from the middle of my speech and made it the ending.

And.

And now it was much more thought provoking, much more powerful. Even though logically timeline, because I tend to be overly logical, it belonged in the middle. But when I realized and regrouped and stepped back, I realized this is a stronger close. But it was the audience who helped me recognize that and my ability to see between the lines.

And sometimes as you listen between the lines. This is a more lighthearted thought I want to share, but I remember I was preparing for a speech way back in 1994. It was. And I had this, what I thought was a really cool, funny line. And I tested it, maybe on four or five audiences. And here comes the line. Boom. And there came the crickets.

Boom.

I tell you, Darren, they told me, do not include this line in the speech. It is not going to work. And they did that tacitly, without saying a word. They made it clear to me. Didn't resonate. And it's a little bit humorous. But the reactions help tell the tale. The reaction tell you that ooh, ooh, always leans back. I gave a speech in French, as you know, Darren, a few weeks ago, and it was.

Check out that episode two weeks prior about challenging yourself. That was brilliant.

Oh. It was episode 201. Oh. And I watched a video of this, and I wanted to let the audience know I am not a French speaker. And I added a line which I realized was the right thing to do. Now, will I give that particular speech again? No. But if I do find myself ever delivering a talk to a French audience, I'm going to include the line that said, I have not had a formal French lesson since 1977. When I said that, you know, Dupuis, millennial disset since 1977. And I saw somebody in the audience lean back, grab her head, and go. That told me that this is a kind of line that will resonate for an audience. Hearing this kind of presentation, the reactions your audience gives you are also indicative of what's working. And there are times, Darren, perhaps you can relate to this. Even though you're funny. Again, you don't, but you deliver a line. You'll say something in passing that we may not think is that significant. And all of a sudden the audience goes, and you realize I just blew by something that maybe I need to revisit. Because if every audience goes, huh? When I say that, which I thought was no big deal, they're telling me, you need to include that. And, Darren, seriously, how many times in our workshops or in our Wednesday night coaching calls, one of our coaches says something, and Mike Davis or Jennifer Leone.

Or you like, oh, hold on. Back the truck up, right?

What did you say? Yeah. Did someone so. Oh, my gosh, that's it. And they go, what are their audience? And we hear something that they don't. And I will say this to everyone. Please hear me carefully. We all have parts of our life and experience that seems normal to us because we've lived it, but to our audience, it is noteworthy. One of my lines is, one man's mundane is another man's magnificent. I'll give an example very quickly for those who are new to me. Mark Brown. I am Jamaican by birth, and I tell my story, and I reveal, you know, I left Jamaica. I was 18. I had two suitcases, 40 bucks in my pocket. I went to live in New York. On to Live. Wait, back up.

What?

You're what, you were 18? Yeah. You had, what, 40 bucks? Yeah. And you moved to New York from Jamaica with 40 bucks? That's it. Like, yeah, my life. And I go, wait, what was that like? But because I have lived it, right? It's part of my experience. It's hair to me. And I can almost guarantee that each of us has some dimension or aspect to our lives that we think is no big deal. But our audience goes, wait, stop. We want to do a Paul Harvey. We want to know the rest of the story. What was that all about? You did what? Like, yeah, it was my life. Exactly. It was just your life. But please hear me, friends. Sometimes just your life holds gold for your audience, because they want to know, how did you get through that? Experience. What did you learn in the process? You can really help me where I am right now. But if we're not listening to our audience and we blow by a line and we don't see the reaction, we may miss an opportunity to really excite, inspire, and bless our audience. And Darren said earlier, pay attention to the cues. There are visual cues, their audible cues that gasp, applause. There are cues to tell you there's something of value that you may have missed. So I hope you look at your own story, your own life differently and go back and remember the time when the audience responded, when you didn't expect it, you wanted to move on. They're telling you don't move on. They're telling you there's a value you're leaving on the table.

Yeah. Mark, I want to emphasize one of the things we talk about to be unforgettable. Great speeches aren't written, they're rewritten. And here's why. I believe, from my experience, especially in stand up, that it is critical to record yourself every time and go back and listen. Sometimes we're going to have those magical moments, like you said, where people either go, wait, wait, wait, wait, or we'll get a huge laugh. And it was something that maybe you never said before. And in stand up comedy, sometimes you'll see, especially open mic nights when you have experienced people popping by and they're just testing new material. Sometimes you'll hear one of them say to the other comics in the back of the room, hey, write that down for me. They may joke about it, but sometimes they actually mean it because they want to remember that that that's a new idea or new thought that came out in the moment because you were connected with that audience. Well, Mark, early on, I used to do this joke about subway, and not the one in my championship speech, but I used to say that this lady would come in every day and I was trying to describe her. So I'm up on stage, I'm trying to describe her. I have the emotion in me. And if you're watching the YouTube version, you see this, but my face scowls because I'm picturing her walking in and she would, like, come in, and it was subway, where they have the little sneeze shields, but they have the vegetables and everything underneath that. But she would just, like, look at everything and she would like, literally sniff. Like, you know, it's fresh food. We're required to throw it out at the end of the day and da, da, da, da. But she would just come in with this scowl and she would, like, ask me a question. She would say, do you work here? Now, one of my jokes was, well, I'm no Colombo, but that paper hat, that apron, would have been a hint and a half that I worked in, you know, and that was the joke. But one day, because I recorded it, I was able to capture this. I was just caught up in the moment and the connection, and I was seeing her and describing her. I would say, this lady came in, this pickle sniffer. And I just said pickle sniffer. But I made the face so people knew the direction I was going. I said pickle sniffer. Which, by the way, at our humor boot camp coming up in August, we talk about funny words and why some words just in and of themselves can incite or ignite laughter. So when you incorporate them into certain lines, into certain punchlines, it will actually multiply the effect of the line if you're using the right word. But when I said pickle sniffer, I learned early on to record yourself, because that's what they said I had to do. By the way, it's painful to listen. Yep. Oh, yep. But here's the question. Do you want to be unforgettable or not? And if you're not willing to listen to yourself, why should anyone else listen?

Boom.

So my point is, because I captured it and I heard the laugh, I.

Was like, oh, that's good.

That got a good laugh. I have to describe the character that way from now on. And I did. And it consistently got laughs in the description of the character. I didn't even get to the punchline yet. So that was just a powerful anecdote, true life anecdote. Which is why I'm even more of a believer in recording and even more of a believer of going back and listening. Because when you're not caught up in the moment and serving the audience as we do, when you kind of step back and you become an observer and a listener of yourself, you're going to come up with better ideas because you're more in a creative space to be more creative. But you're also. And at the same time, you're capturing some of those gems that might have just been lost.

Mark, it's funny you mentioned that comment you heard. When I was competing in the Toastmasters World Championship, I was doing, giving my preparing my calling out as my final speech, I guess, my original speech, rehearsing one day, and on a whim, I threw a little silly line in there. And my daughter, who was probably 9 or 10 years old, said, hey, dad, that's funny. Ought to use that. I'm like, no, it's stupid, it's corny, Daddy, trust me, it is funny. You should do it. I said, okay, fine. I used the line in my speech, my semifinal, then called regional and got a 13 second laugh for the line. Because my daughter, 9 or she was, she was 11, 11 years old, and she said, dad, it's funny, you should use it. My 11 year old daughter helped me use a line in a speech. I got a 13 second laugh. I won that contest and that propelled me into the world championship, which I eventually won that year in the previous millennium, thank you very much. But the point being, by hearing what someone else says in response, it happens in the moment. While you were there, I used a similar line. I was doing a keynote one day. I don't know why I chose to put a line. I just tossed it in there and the audience reacted and told me that's funny. I didn't think it was. Or you put a pause in and they get a ooh, they're telling you that's the right place to pause. And trust me, every presenter goes through moments when the audience reacts in a way that they don't expect. It happens to all of us. The key is how do you use what your audience is telling you to make your presentation better the next time?

Yeah, and the key is capturing it. Capturing because you can't, like the comedian said, write that down for me. You can't necessarily write it down for yourself in that moment. So there are ways. If you listen between the lines and you observe the audience between the lines, that they truly, as well as interviewing them ahead of time, they truly can help you write your speech and make it better. How do I say it better? In fewer words. Mark, take us home.

My last thought is this. Don't discount the value of what your audience tells you, either verbally, either physically or even tacitly, because if you are open, you listen and reserve between the lines, you will know your audience will help you write your speech. We'll see you next week.

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