Craig Valentine's "Edge of Their Seats" Public Speaking Blog!

11 Reflection Statements - Part 2

Reflect on these statements. The more you internalize them, the better speaker you will become. I welcome your comments on how they apply to you. 

1. Put the process, not the person, on a pedestal
2. If you are always dynamic, you are no longer dynamic
3. People won’t remember what you say as much as they’ll remember what they see when you say it (learned from Patricia Fripp). 
4. Reactions tell the story (learned from Darren LaCroix)
5. Share your story and sell your point
6. Give your audience hints and let them mentally fill in the rest
7. Don’t speak for standing ovations; speak for standing invitations
8. Never sell the product or service; always sell the story
9. No humor is much better than forced humor
10. Don’t shout, share (SpeakerMan/Woman should leave the building)
11. “Speaking is a dialogue not a monologue.” Bill Gove

10 Reflection Statements (Part 1)

Wisdom comes from reflection, which makes you dive within. Therefore, you’re not supposed to simply read the statements below. Instead, reflect on them. I suggest contacting 1 or 2 other speakers to discuss all 10 statements and commenting on the statements on this blog. These are statements I use often when coaching speakers and the more you reflect on them, the better speaker you will become. This is Part 1 of 4 as I have a total of 35 reflection statements. However, you get 10 now because I can’t violate statement #7 can I? Do the work; it will pay off!

1. You can’t affect if they don’t reflect
2. Don’t restate your story. Relive it and invite your audience into your re-living room
3. When you lift yourself up, you let your audience down
4. What’s loose is lost (hint: this is about content)
5. Speak to one but look to all
6. Promise something at the beginning that makes them stay until the end
7. Too many speakers try to get across too much information in too little time
8. Don’t add humor; uncover it
9. What gets recorded gets rewarded
10. Perfection sucks