Читать книгу THE SEVEN MINUTE STAR - Florian Mueck - Страница 9

Do you remember the cat who is so incredibly confident it can stand up to speak in front of 500 Rottweilers? Confidently the cat takes 500 leashes in its paw and pulls gently but firmly, creating a connective tension with the audience. When you speak in public, you have about 30 seconds, more or less, to create that tension between yourself and your listeners, to gain and hold their attention. Your very first sentence is the most crucial rhetorical tool you’ll ever have — it’s like the cat’s paw, because you must use it to grab your audience’s attention.

Boring George

You’ve heard of Curious George, but have you heard about Boring George? If we take a look at average speakers from all over the world — at congresses, banquets, seminars, fairs, weddings, or anywhere — we usually hear a standard, and boring, beginning:

“Hello everybody, and good evening! My name is George Boring, and it is a great honor and pleasure for me to have the opportunity tonight to talk to you about mobility in the 21st century...”

Is that a powerful beginning? If you were in the audience, would it grab your attention? Is this the powerful rhetoric that will blast all the way to the back row of a room filled with 500 guests who just had one too many glasses of red wine?

Let’s take a closer look at this general, standard opening that we’ll hear 99% of the time.

We Know You, George

George is already well known to us: his name appeared on the invitation, and again on the program, and if that weren’t enough, somebody introduced him by name just a few moments ago. We know you, George! And we know what you’re going to talk about, too, because that’s on the invitation too, as well as on the agenda, and maybe on the sign outside the door as well. We know we’re right in the middle of the evening, and we certainly know that it’s a great honor and pleasure for you to be speaking to us — how could it be anything else? In short, you’ve been talking for almost a minute, but you haven’t yet said anything we don’t already know — so we’re already half-way to falling asleep!

I’ve Never Sold A Car In My Life

Once, when I was with KPMG in Barcelona, I had to present the results of a market study whose objective was to analyze the various success factors for retail automobile sales in Spain. We’d invited seven top representatives of auto manufacturers, the country’s biggest importer, and its biggest retailer, and a prominent professor of entrepreneurship, Pedro Nueno of IESE Business School. It was quite an exclusive group.

Had I been inspired by George Boring’s standard beginning, I probably would have started my presentation like this:

“Hello everybody! I know it is early in the morning...” [Insert fake smile.] My name is Florian Mueck, and I would like to share the results of our market study about success factors in automotive retail in Spain with you. Why don’t we start right away by looking at...”

But I did not start like the other 99% of public speakers. Even then, I knew that the first sentence was my only chance, my 30-second chance, to wake everyone up — to grab the leashes of all those Rottweilers — and generate the tension necessary to keep their attention. So instead, I started like this:

“I’ve never sold a car in my life!” Here, instead of a fake smile, I paused for a full three seconds to let the audience think about what I’d just said. Then I continued: “And I don’t know whether any of you has ever sold a car in your lives, either. ” I knew no one had — that much was certain. “But [pause], after talking to all these actors in the marketplace [theatrically pointing at the first Powerpoint slide], after listening to the needs and preoccupations of retailers, manufacturers, importers, dealerships, repair shops, financiers and customers, I can tell you one thing for sure: Selling a car must be one of the biggest challenges in our lives!”

Professor Nueno would never have acknowledged my existence before I made that presentation, but ever since then, every time we see each other, he greets me with a big smile.

Be Creative

The first sentence is holy; it is sacred; it cannot be cluttered up with meaningless verbiage like “Good evening” or “Hello everyone” or “My name is...” An opening sentence must be catchy, a grabber — powerful.

Be creative. If you talk about water, drink a glass of water in one gulp first, then say: “Water is great, but [pause, and turn the empty glass upside-down] there ’s not much left!” If you’re going to talk about music, sing! If you’re speaking about the internet bubble of 2000, bring a balloon and let it explode, then say: “I was a broker in New York, when the bubble burst!”

Whatever you do, make it catchy and unexpected: ask a rhetorical question, for example, or simply exclaim in a single word: “Divorce!” — and let the pause be long enough to get a little uncomfortable. You could entertain the audience with body movements and nothing else. The list of possible openers is nearly infinite; it’s only cut short by your imagination.

By the way, to obtain the greatest impact for your first sentence, make sure there is absolute silence in the room before you even open your mouth. Take your time; it can be difficult, but you must be patient. When the very last person has cleared his throat and his neighbor has stopped moving around on his chair, then you can uncork your magical intro and grab those Rottweilers by the leash.

Learn It By Heart

Since the first sentence is so extremely important to create tension between you and your audience, I strongly recommend that you write it down and learn it by heart. You’ll get a welcome side-benefit as well: you won’t have to think anymore about what to say at the beginning.

That’s Better, George

So how could George have started his speech? Maybe with a quotation:

“Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait. The grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas.— Henry Ford ’s words seem timeless. Despite our crisis-battered sector, we are more enthusiastic than ever about what lies ahead. Hybrids, electric cars, emission free cars — new challenges are reaching out to everyone in this room. Let ’s face them with enthusiasm. Henry would be proud of us!”

When you start like this, you surprise the audience. Surprise means attention. Attention is what you want; attention is what you need.

You have 30 seconds to grab those Rottweilers’ leashes — be creative and take your audience by surprise!