Transcript of a TJ Walker live-stream segment (Dec 12, 2016) in which an online student, Lee, asks how to remember long speeches. Walker explains a practical technique: prepare large-font outline notes, make multiple copies, and place them around the room as ‘cheat sheets’ so the speaker can move freely and appear relaxed without memorizing the entire speech. He positions this method as a way to reduce nerves and project confidence, and directs listeners to his website for more resources.
Chapters
One of my online students writes in with a following question. Lee wants to know, TJ what's the best way to remember a long speech? What do you do if you've got to give a speech for 45, 50, 60 minutes? Well, Lee, first of all, I want to congratulate you for even focus on a higher level skill like this. So many people go through their business careers, their political careers, thinking, I. I just want to get through this. I want to not make a mistake. Therefore, let me read a speech or read bullet points. No, no. When you look at the great leaders of business, of politics, look at any profile of them in a major media outlet like the New York Times, typically, you'll see some profile that says, and he or she spoke for an hour without using notes. It's seen as this huge, huge accomplishment. But here's the problem, Lee. When you speak, you're going to be nervous. And when you're nervous, the natural tendency is to have adrenaline pulsing through your body. So your brain is shutting down. Your memory actually isn't working as well as it normally does because your body's telling you, run. Get out of here. So you need to make it easier on yourself. And there is a secret. This is a secret that I've given to presidents of countries and prime ministers and billionaire fund managers. And it's a secret you can use. It's a secret I use every time I'm giving a speech. I can tell you, nothing makes me feel better than giving a speech and having people come up afterwards and say, wow, you just spoke to us for an hour and you moved around the room the whole time. It was captivating. Then I tell them it's a secret. It's a trick. In fact, I had no idea what my next slide was going to be or what my next point was going to be. Are you ready for the secret? Ly. Here it is. It's just a sheet of paper. It's notes. Now, the key is I write the notes in very large font, I blow it up, and then I cut it out. But here's the bigger secret. I have three copies of my outline, and then I have them strategically placed throughout the room. This way, I don't have to be wedded into one spot. I don't have to be standing behind a lectern. And yet I don't have to remember anything. It's all right here. So, Lee, I'm here to tell you it's okay to be lazy, even as long as you can focus on what's really important. Your audience feeling like you are just comfortable and relaxed with them and having a conversation. And if you know that all your important points are right here, it takes all the pressure off of you. You actually can be more relaxed and more comfortable and more confident. And when you do that, you're going to distinguish yourself. You're going to look better than the other sales reps. You're going to look better than the other people running for office or making the case as to why their product or service is better. So remember, it doesn't matter how long the speech is. You never need to stand behind a lectern and look like some nervous middle management stooge. You can always speak with as much authority conviction as the best speaker you've ever seen. Whether you respect Oprah or Anthony Robbins or Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan, you can command the stage with this little secret. A cheat sheet. It can work for you. If you want more tips on how to do this, please go to my homepage@mediatrainingworldwide.com or right here on the Facebook page. For more information, check out some of our online courses on how to present more effectively.
