5 tips for successful presentations from a professional speechwriter

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

These rhetorical tricks will help you get your message across and convince listeners.

1. Build tension with short phrases

When Barack Obama became president in 2008, he delivered his famous speech. In it, the politician vividly described the difficulties that awaited the country: "And although today we are celebrating, we know that tomorrow we will face the greatest problems of our generation: two wars, a planet in danger, the worst financial crisis of the century."

Notice the last part of the sentence - "two wars, a planet in danger, the worst financial crisis of the century." It is imbued with tension not only because of the content, but also because of the way it is pronounced. The phrase sounds short and abrupt. It imitates our speech, as it were, in a hurry or anxiety. Try this technique if you need to convey to your audience a sense of the utmost importance and urgency of what you are talking about.

2. Use the rule of three

In the same part of the sentence, another trick is the rule of three. We usually remember things better when they are listed three at a time. This is used in:

• Political speeches. For example: "Power of the people, by the will of the people and for the people" from the speech of Abraham Lincoln.
• Slogans. For example: "Reduce, reuse, recycle" - to reduce consumption, reuse, recycle (the slogan of conscious consumption).
• Book and movie titles. For example: "The good, the bad, the ugly."

When we list our arguments in threes, they sound more weighty, convincing, and reliable. In addition, it conveys an emotional state and infects the listeners with the speaker's enthusiasm.

3. Maintain balance

"Don't ask what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." This famous phrase from the speech of John F. Kennedy, uttered in 1961, made a huge impression on the audience and touches people to this day. The fact is that it is built of two parts that are opposite in meaning. If a sentence sounds like this, it seems to us that the thoughts in it are also harmonious, and our brain loves harmony. As a result, we easily accept the speaker's arguments.

Such sentences attract us, even if the harmony in them is only in words. For example:

• We look to the future, not the past.
• We work together, not against each other.
• We think about what can be done, not about what cannot.

4. Use metaphors

Metaphors are the most powerful tool for political communication. The sentences with them turn out to be very imaginative and cause an instant emotional reaction from the listeners, therefore politicians abundantly season their speech with them. With the help of a metaphor, it is easier to lead to a thought.

Unfortunately, this technique is often used to manipulate, instigate, and denigrate. For example, in 2015-2016, some politicians called the place of residence of refugees in France not a camp or a settlement, but the jungle. This word evokes the idea that migrants are wild beasts that must be feared, that they pose a threat to others. This is a very dangerous metaphor that can inflame hatred. The media quickly picked up on her and constantly called the settlement "the Jungle of Calais."

5. Add rhymes

From childhood, they help us remember something: "Zhi, shi write with the letter i", "Onion - from seven ailments." Rhymes sound musically and remain in the memory like haunting melodies. This technique may seem trivial, but if applied sparingly and in the right place, the effect can be very powerful.

The attractiveness of rhymes is due to the fact that it is easier for the brain to process them. When we use long words and sentences, it is as if we are giving a person a large piece of meat and asking them to swallow it whole. But capacious phrases with rhyme are like a glass of light wine, they are easy to learn.

These five tricks are useful not only for those who often perform in public. Even if you personally never use them, learn to recognize the described techniques. Politicians, advertisers and various scammers use them to gain votes, impose their opinions and sell unnecessary things. Remember this to avoid falling into the trap, and do not use such methods to deceive yourself.