What a post office cashier taught me about public speaking | Malachi ...

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I was at the post office yesterday sending a product to one of the people on my mailing list. It ended up being a magic moment as I picked up a speaking lesson I will never forget ? a lesson that will increase the chances of your audience walking home with your message.

How do you want it delivered?

I walked in with a large brown envelope, placed it on the counter and the Asian guy behind the till pulled down his glasses and said in a thick accent, ?Hi, how do you want it delivered, first class??

I said yes but just before he went to process the stamp, I asked: ?How much is second class?? I was trying to save money! ?He said, ?One pound and ten pence.? I said, ?How much is first class?? He said, ?One pound and twenty pence.?

Then as I reached for my money to pay, I asked him a question that would change the way I thought about speaking: ?What other options do I have?? He smiled and said, ?You can have special delivery, first class delivery, or second class delivery.?

Wow, I?ve got three options! I didn?t know there was something better than first class delivery ? I didn?t even know special delivery existed! ??What?s the difference?? I asked him. Again he smiled and said, ?Special delivery means that they get it in less than 24 hours; first class means they get it within 1-2 working days, and second class means they get it in 2-3 working days.?

I said thank you and stood at the till thinking how profound this all was ? how it?s delivered, determines how they get it!

Content over delivery??

I realised that the same principle applies in speaking ? when most speakers prepare, they spend ninety per cent of their time focusing on their content ? this is what I did when I was starting out (and a trap I still fall into sometimes). Focusing on the content involves trying to find the exact words to say to your audience, looking for or creating quotes, writing and re-writing scripts ? to the point that you don?t get enough time to practice your delivery!

Most speakers are content-focused when they should be delivery-focused! ?Yes we need content, but like my post office friend taught me, it?s how you deliver that determines how they get it ? if you can?t deliver well, your audience will not be awake to hear your content!

I pulled my money out of my pocket and said, ?First class delivery please? (I wanted to do special delivery but that was ?5!)

So if you?re thinking, ?Nice story, but how do I take my delivery to the next level??

Here?s what I?ve learnt:

Three keys to taking your delivery to the next level

1) Record yourself at every practice session

This is probably the number one way to hone your delivery skills because you actually get to see what your audience sees when you play back your recordings, and it also helps to sculpt your use of the stage.?

2) Watch better speakers

I watched DVDs of speakers who had spoken in front of larger audiences than and I studied how they used the stage. You can easily do this on YouTube ? just look at the best speakers and watch how they use the stage. Remember to do this with a pen and paper and then go out there and practice .

3) Get coached?

I picked up a variety of staging techniques when being coached on the way to the semi-finals of the world championship of public speaking. My coaches watched my videos and made suggestions, most of which came out of their wealth of experience on the stage, and I took the recommendations that resonated with me. If you can?t afford to pay for coaching, join Toastmasters ? you?ll get a lot of great feedback every time you take the stage.

Content is important, but remember it?s how you deliver that determines how they get it! Will you give your audience a second class, first class, or a special delivery? The choice is yours!

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Your turn:?When it comes to getting your message across, go you agree that delivery is more important than content? What do you spend most of your time doing when you practice? Let me know your thoughts?

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photo credit: And all that Malarkey via photo pin cc

Source: http://www.malachitalabi.com/what-a-post-office-cashier-taught-me-about-public-speaking/

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