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This week’s KICK-ASS Career we are on S – for Speaking.

Many people say they aren’t good presenters, “that’s just for salespeople”. I say, you can and you must! Speaking is essential to every area of success.

Over the years I have seen so many people transform their careers, their relationships and their ability to network. Nothing boosts your confidence at work more than knowing how to present. No matter what the topic, there are 6 easy steps to follow. Use these techniques and you will have their attention from the beginning. (That’s where to start.) In a previous post I spoke about your voice technique. This week I focus on the structure of your content.

Watch this week’s video, where I teach the details on how to present to anyone on anything. Yes, anything, whether it be talking with your spouse about vacation, or your next budget presentation. It’s that time of the year!

Structure Your Story

Most stories follow a three (3) act structure. It starts with the beginning, has a middle and an end.  The two frameworks you must follow are:

1. The story structure
2. The hero arc

Remember this from English class in high school? That’s story structure. Our brains are wired to listen this way, we expect things to be told to us in this way, the narrative way. See this week’s IDEASheet to work this out! The beginning I find is truly the missing gem. What is the background to your point? When did this start? Why are you telling this to someone else? Start as early in as possible in the story, but don’t get too detailed, just answer one of the above questions.

Second, we can get our audience fired up when we use the emotional hero arc. This tells the journey of our presentation’s “hero”. A hero can be anything from a person, place or thing. I use the example of a dining room set I purchased. See the video. Spend seven minutes to watch the easiest way to build a great story!

The Hero’s Journey

The hero’s journey starts with a challenge (beginning) then elaborates on the struggle (the middle) and finally, the AMAZING RESULT! You can frame your budget presentation in this format or the story of your appendectomy. This works for anything you want to tell, just follow this structure. Watch the video for examples. HERE.

DOWNLOAD THE IDEASheet and watch the video to really skyrocket your presentation technique. Your career deserves a kick in the right direction! Speak well and connect!

Blessings on your journey!

Mo Faul