Yesterday I heard one of the best speeches I’ve ever experienced.
I use the word ‘experienced’ because it grabbed me at so many levels that I did more than listen or hear.
The title was a little off-putting – “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying”. That’s the kind of title that only an experienced speaker, with wisdom and depth, can do justice to.
It was a long speech , almost 40 minutes. Again, only an experienced speaker can carry a speech of this length without losing the attention of the audience. This speaker – Alan Warburton – had the maturity and wisdom to carry it off.
What made it, in my opinion, a great speech?
1. Choice of topic.
We all would like to live our lives better so we all bought into the topic. Also it was a topic that the speaker felt was important; he was presenting something that mattered deeply to him. This led to
2. Thoughtful structuring of the speech. The five points were linked by the opening and conclusion, by the theme itself and even by the stories. It was a simple, direct, easy-to-grasp format. Each point was simply and clearly stated.
3 Serious practice time. I saw no stumbling, no pauses for thought, no awkward jumps between ideas. The speaker had practiced not just to remember the words and the sequence but to internalize the speech. (I asked myself afterwards, ‘When was the last time I internalized a speech?’) Internalizing a speech does not come without a lot of quality time spent on it.
4. Stories. Each point was illustrated with a vivid story. How vivid? So vivid I can probably repeat them now, 24 hours later. More importantly, so vivid that I remember each of the points. He chose stories mostly from his own family and we felt we got to know these people in all their brilliance, their foibles and a couple of their weaknesses.
He selected detail that revealed character and moved his story forward to the conclusion he was aiming at. He used humor and touches of emotion, but never so much that we lost sight of the theme as we enjoyed the stories.
5. A confident, unhurried presentation. Some good long pauses – for thought, not for effect. Movement that reflected meaning, without being a weak gesture. A voice that held sincerity.
When you hear a truly first class speech – not part of a contest or any important event – you start to get clarity about what you yourself are aiming at. You begin to understand what “communicating better” actually means to you. You get a glimpse of everything you must do well to become the speaker you would like to be.
It helped that this speaker is a terrific story-teller – that is his special talent. But, like all the other aspects of his speech, if we were to work on it, we too would get better at it. Better at choosing and telling stories, better at pausing, better at… It all takes hard work and focus.
Hard work and focus. Not the easiest choices. But the end result is so worthwhile.
(NOTE: The speech was based on the book ‘The Top Five Regrets of the Dying” by Bronnie Ware)
The Story Solver 
wow… that is fantastic… to hold the attention for that length of time… the speaker must have really told stories well.
It was indeed – and the one pager he handed out after with the essential points was the icing on the cake. Some people lead by example.