{"id":41141,"date":"2023-10-20T15:11:54","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/richard-bransons-top-tips-for-making-a-killer-speech-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:11:54","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:11:54","slug":"richard-bransons-top-tips-for-making-a-killer-speech-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/richard-bransons-top-tips-for-making-a-killer-speech-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Richard Branson’s top tips for making a killer speech – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Richard<\/div>\n

Virgin founder Richard Branson is no stranger to the spotlight, but when he makes a speech he says there\u2019s only one goal in mind: Avoiding boring everyone to tears.<\/p>\n

Writing on the Virgin blog last week<\/a>,\u00a0Branson revealed his top tips for next time you\u2019re speaking in public \u2014 no matter whether you\u2019re\u00a0terrified of the prospect or desperate\u00a0to make a passionate plea to your audience.<\/p>\n

1. Keep it to one sheet of paper<\/h3>\n

\u201cWhen will people realise that a short speech is so much better than a long speech?\u201d Branson asks.<\/p>\n

\n
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\u201cIn the same way most business pitches can be done on the back of an envelope, most of what anybody has to say of great note can fit on one side of paper.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Not only does this approach make it easier to frame your point of view, it could also help to ensure the audience, and any other presenters at the event, stay with you.<\/p>\n

Branson recounts being at an presentation\u00a0in Japan where the speaker before him \u201cdroned on\u201d for a couple of hours. He was next in line to give a speech, and realised everyone had reached their limit for long-winded presentations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw what was happening, I wouldn\u2019t do a speech at all; I got on stage and asked the audience to interact with me,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 40 minutes I left on a high, everyone was enjoying it \u2014\u00a0and was awake!\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more: Do you make these four common mistakes when giving a presentation?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

2. Start and end with a smile<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s a simple trick, but no matter how serious the topic, you can usually structure a speech around two laughs, Branson says.<\/p>\n

Building your presentation\u00a0around some lighter moments doesn\u2019t mean the bulk of it loses its weight, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cStart making people smile, have a laugh in the middle, be sure to include a bit of serious stuff either side of that, but end on a smile,\u201d Branson says.<\/p>\n

3. Don\u2019t be afraid to get people involved<\/h3>\n

After hosting countless events and Q and A sessions, Branson now feels at home ad-libbing, but he says even those new to public speaking can benefit from getting the audience they are addressing involved in the presentation.<\/p>\n

The trick here is not worrying so much about the outcome: \u201cI just take whatever comes,\u201d Branson says of hosting Q and A sessions for his Virgin Unite foundation.<\/p>\n

This strategy allows people to put forward their own ideas, with Branson taking a relaxed approach to considering them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf somebody wants a photo, I invite them up, I have a laugh with them. If somebody tries to pitch something to me, I let the audience judge business ideas,\u201d he writes.<\/p>\n

And one of the best bits about building a speech around short, funny moments?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes the time fly faster,\u201d Branson says.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on SmartCompany<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em>\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0and iTunes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Virgin founder Richard Branson is no stranger to the spotlight, but when he makes a speech he says there\u2019s only<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41141"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}