Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 171

'Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.'
- Abraham Lincoln

One Speech Coach answers: WHAT MAKES A GREAT SPEECH Installment 4 of 15

4.    Answer the question "What’s In It For Me?" - every time. Think, “service leadership.” Don’t assume they're as interested in your topic, or your take on their topic, as you are. That is as dangerous as assuming they're as much in love with the sound of your voice as you are! They’ll care how much you know when they know how much you care. Find, then meet, their needs – every time!

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 170

'We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.'
- Abraham Lincoln

One Speech Coach answers: WHAT MAKES A GREAT SPEECH Installment 3 of 15

3.    Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Internalize your material so thoroughly that now you can focus not on you [“Oh my God: What do they think of me?”] but on your audience and meeting their needs - which is where your focus belongs. And insofar as you’ve given a ton of time to crafting your message down to the gnat’s eyebrow, to rehearsing every gesture, every pause, every raised eyebrow, you’ll have your audience in your pocket. They may not realize the dynamic, but they’ll hang on your every word if you’ve invested hours for every five minutes of your presentation because they’re on the receiving end of a presentation that is truly mature, not one that comes across vaguely as half-baked. They’ll automatically give you their rapt attention – you in turn will feed off that attention. Thus, you will have engendered a match made in heaven!

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 169

Lincoln had a voracious curiosity. Since he had virtually no formal schooling he learned early in life that satisfying his curiosity was going to be his job and his job alone. Consequently, as a child he taught himself to read and write; he also taught himself Euclidean geometry, then surveying, then the law. He was a lifelong student of literature having memorized long passages from both Shakespeare and the Bible. As if all that were not enough, in 1849 he applied for a patent on his design for ‘a new and improved manner of combining adjustable buoyant chambers with steam boats’ [these chambers were designed to lift steam boats above sand bars]. He is the only president in American history to have been granted a patent. Then as President he taught himself how to be a Commander in Chief.

One Speech Coach answers: WHAT MAKES A GREAT SPEECH Installment 2 of 15

2     It goes without saying, but have a title. Whether you’re out to inform us, or entertain us, or inspire us, or amuse us start out focused and stay focused throughout right down to the last semi-colon – there’s a world of difference between moving around and getting ahead. Your title is a foundational phrase of less than 10 words that governs everything you will say. "My dream is not for sale," for example. And as a necessary adjunct, limit your topic. "I've discovered the cure for cancer!" isn't nearly as riveting as the speaker might think.  Keep it much tighter. Remember, the cockpits of super-fast, super-efficient airplanes make very good use of the limited space available. Broad topics are ALWAYS easy to state - and ALWAYS make for clunky, unimaginative presentations.

Lincoln’s Wit/Wisdom 168

'We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts - not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.'
- Abraham Lincoln