The 4 Elements of an Excellent Speech
My start as a speaker, elements from the small art and my TEDx Talk.
Hey there,
How do you give a good speech or lecture?
In this edition I share four elements that I learned from my speaker coach. Handy on stage, but also for a team presentation or a toast at a party.
Enjoy reading!
Peter
My debut in De Kleine Komedie
A tall shape, long arms and a charming naughty look. At the end of 2017 I met Rutger Mollee on the advice of my rowing teammates from University. Rutger was chairman of the association of former members, but above all an experienced moderator and presentation coach.
In the fall of 2017 I had stopped my job in paid employment to become a full -time speaker. I could use a kickstart. That's why I called Rutger.
With Rutger, partner at Speak to Inspire, I looked back performances of myself, we worked together on new material and we also discussed things such as pricing and negotiation with customers.
He called me three weeks ago. "Peter, we are in De Kleine Komedie to celebrate the ten year anniversary of our company. A speaker has dropped out, do you want to come? "
I stammered, "You have a room full of speakers, they are probably better than me?"
Rutger: "I don't think so. We also like your story. When you started you didn't have a lot of money, but you put it in your own development as a speaker. And see where you are now! "
I participated. My debut in De Kleine Komedie, a legendary theatre in Amsterdam.
Four elements of a good speech
Friday, June 23, I was on the podium of the small comedy. In the week and a half before that I had two sessions with Maurits, a colleague from Rutger.
Maurits did a theater course after a midlife crisis (his own words). Now he is, among other things, chairman of the day, comedian and presentation coach.
The most important thing I worked on with Maurits are the four elements from the small arts. My learning goal was to get more variation in my voice, body language and expression.
Earth is factual and correct
Air is frivolous and loosely
Water is connecting and together
Fire is powerful and convincing
With each element we came up with associations and archetypes. Such as Donald Trump and Gretha Thunberg for fire. Then we walked through my lecture and decided which part I would tell with which element.
A nice lesson that challenged me as an experienced speaker and that you can also try once during your next speech!
Deep Dive
Articles, books, podcasts, videos, documentaries and more about this theme.
1. BOOK / In recent years I have read a number of books about speaking skills. For example TED Talks by Chris Anderson. Includes everything for a good TEDx Talk, from subject choice to practice and clothing. It is the official book by TED.
2. PRACTICE / For years I was a member of Toastmasters Amersfoort (there are clubs all over the Netherlands and in the world).
During the club evenings I practiced lectures, received feedback, assessed other speakers and sharpness my improvisation skills. This remains the best way to learn.
3. YOUTUBE / In April I gave a lecture at the UPPS Symposium of TU Delft. A fascinating theme: ultra-qualified products and services in, among other things, fashion, health care and sport.
Anyway, every time I am in Delft, it feels special. Because in 2018 I was a speaker at TEDx Delft. It was a catalyst in my career as a speaker, because with such a large TEDx event behind my name I received more and more requests.
When I look back my talk from the time, I think:
"It wasn't that bad yet. But I would do it differently now. "
"I was so young!"
See for yourself:
🙏 Thank you for reading
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