About the art of communicating and inspiring.

Essentially there are three basic questions for an event: what is to be communicated, who is delivering the message and how will it happen? How you answer these questions will then dictate the nature of the in-house party, the customer meeting, the global event or whatever it is that you’re planning. The message you come up with must of course be seen and felt in everything that happens during the day. Not least in what happens on stage. So what do we do? Well, one thing’s for sure: few people, if any, can rely on the spur of the moment and their inspiration. If it’s just what you say that is important – send an e-mail. If how you say it is important – give it some thought.

Be prepared.

Look at it this way: the speech doesn’t last 30 minutes, but perhaps two months. Use the month before the event to lay the foundations and build up expectations. Use the month after the event to capture questions, evidence and clarifications.

Involve. Include. Be interactive.

Nothing is really interesting if it doesn’t affect you, so make sure the audience is involved in your speech. Talk to a special group, department or person at some point. Also use your previous knowledge of the target group.

Choose and reject.

What do you really want to say? A main message cannot contain ten equally important points. Choose the most important things, three at most, and concentrate on getting them across in the most convincing way possible.

Don’t hide things.

Bad news doesn’t get any better just because you keep it to yourself. But what you really want to say can totally bypass the audience if they’re just sitting waiting for something they know is coming sooner or later. “When’s he going to say it?” “She’ll never dare to say it?” “Let’s just see how long it takes before he drops the bombshell.”

Test your thoughts.

Try out your speech in front of someone who dares to be honest. Yes-men are no use in this situation.

Keep to your message.

It’s easy to get sidetracked, especially if you’re nervous and worried about losing your thread. But a little silence isn’t the end of the world. Keep to the subject and just take a breather if you need to gather your thoughts.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

There are plenty of coaches who are skilled in public speaking whom you can use as a sounding board or hire for a longer assignment. No one can give a good speech if they are unprepared, and speaking to an audience “from the heart” is very much overrated.

Work together.

Three people can give three different speeches and create a fairly fragmented view of the meeting. Try to agree on a relevant common watchword to keep to. Then let the MD, the HR Manager or whoever is to speak, each hold their own speech but using the common denominator.

Find out what the expectations are.

If you don’t know what the audience is expecting, there’s a major risk that you will over-deliver, that you’ll simply cram in too much through pure uncertainty. On the other hand, if you know what the audience is expecting, you can deliver 100% and receive their acclaim. Or deliver 80% and explain why. That works too.

Common objective.

If there are a number of speakers, it can be a good idea to let them familiarise themselves with each other’s presentations before the event. This will help you to avoid contradicting messages, irrelevant content, reprises and repetitions.

Make demands.

There’s a difference between guest presentations and in-house presentations. Make it a demand that the guest speaker acquaints himself/herself with your company’s business so that the message is in harmony.

Hold back your favours.

It’s better to lighten up the programme with a number of small doses of external entertainment than to have one single, long block of entertainment and risk people thinking “That was it, we can go home now”. This applies to both presentations and evening activities.

Moderator and Sidekick.

The moderator is the neutral programme leader, charged with the task of guiding the event. The sidekick gives an angle to the dialogue on stage and can also be the audience’s representative on stage. At larger events it can be a good idea to buy in both moderator and sidekick. At smaller ones it’s often enough just to have a moderator.

Liven up with moderation.

Inviting a top-level comedian to contrast with the company’s serious speakers isn’t always the right move. What was intended to be a refreshing break might have the effect of making the internal speakers appear stiff and boring. Involve the external speaker instead and choose the entertainment so that everything harmonises with the company’s message and reinforces what you want to say.

Entertainment already in house.

Go through your list of employees. Maybe there’s a member of company management who can display a hidden talent during the evening? Guaranteed to go down well.

Celebrities on stage! Or maybe not?

If you have well-known entertainers on stage, you’re guaranteed to have a satisfied audience who’ll spend fifteen minutes taking action snaps and MMS-ing them back to their children. On the other hand, for the same money or less you could have an ambitious, slightly less well-known group customise a repertoire for your particular company. Which one is right for the occasion? At larger events it can be a good idea to buy in both moderator and sidekick. At smaller ones it’s often enough just to have a moderator.