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How to Give Remarkable Presentations: Lessons from the World Domination Summit

How do you live a remarkable life in a conventional world? Or the question that fascinates me as a speech coach – how do you give a remarkable presentation in a conventional world drowning in PowerPoint?

Over the 4th of July weekend I attended the World Domination Summit. I, of course, want to dominate the world, but I attended the conference to get inspiration for my business and meet other crazy, big thinkers.

What surprised me is how many of the speakers talked about speaking from the stage. There were amazing lessons shared about public speaking and presentations. I want to share that knowledge and the WDS energy with you. 

Let's create remarkable presentations in this conventional world with a little help from WDS.

Train to speak like an athlete trains to win the race. -Danielle LaPorte

I get far too many, “OMG, my presentation is in 3-days can you coach me?” calls. I happily take on these clients, but if you want to get excellent at speaking, take Danielle's advice. Flex your speaking muscles like you would train to win a race. A marathon runner never says “OMG, I need to train for that marathon in 3 days.” The runner trains consistently to build up to the 26-miles.

Speak as much as possible whether it's for free or it's a paid gig. When asked to speak – say yes – it's the only way to improve and find your voice as a speaker. Prepare early, prepare often. Practice. Get coaching early on when you know you MUST rock your presentation.

Public speaking is a bolt of electricity -Darren Rowse, ProBlogger.net

Darren spoke about what I refer to as the speaker's high. When you get past the nerves, the thoughts of failure, and all the worries about what could possibly go wrong, speaking energetically connects you with people. When you've hit the mark and the audience connects with you and what you are saying, the energy is magnetic and you feel supercharged. It's the pay-off of a remarkable presentation.

Create the gap between what is and what could be – Nancy Duarte, Slide:ology

Super excited to have heard Nancy Durate speak! She obsessed over what creates speeches that rock the world. The best speakers – Martin Luther King, Jr., Steve Jobs and Eva Peron – construct a gap between what is currently and what could be in the future. Think of Steve Jobs comparing the world without an iPhone versus a world with the iPhone (can you remember the world before Smart Phones?)

How do you create this gap in your own presentations? Paint a picture for your client of their status quo and what it would be like working with you. If the goal of your speech is to motivate – what's the audiences current reality and the transformation that occurs. 

People love possibilities. Painting a descriptive portrait of a better future is a way to engage an audiences brain in the realm of possibility. Be aware if you linger too long in the “what is right now” – you're going to depress the heck out of them!

Vulnerability creates connection and amazing presentations. -Dr. Michelle Mazur (hey that's me)

A weekend of speakers – all great, all inspiring but what separates a great talk from an AMAZING talk? Which talks got standing ovations? The speakers who were the most polished? Had the best visuals? No and No! Vulnerability and great content trumps all of that other speaker jazz.

My favorite speaker of the weekend, Jia Jiang, talked about taking the leap from his cubicle to entrepreneur. He thought he had a backer for the product he developed and wanted to launch. Everything looked great – the investor was a perfect fit. At the last moment, the investor passed. Jia took the rejection hard. It devastated him.

Jia craved to accept rejection more gracefully. He underwent rejection therapy. For 100 days, he actively sought rejection. He flagged down a cop and asked to drive the patrol car, asked a pilot to fly a small plane and requested Krispy Kreme donuts to make donuts shaped like the Olympic rings. 

All said YES! He was failing at his own rejection project. His speech taught me to ask – rejection sucks, but too often you reject yourself before you ask. His talk changed me because of his story – the content and the big idea that he shared. He wasn't the most polished speaker – his delivery was just ok but it didn't matter!  It was his message that set the conference on fire. 

Amazing speakers – remarkable life

For me WDS was a life changing event – as a speaker, an entrepreuner and human being I learned so much. Being a remarkable presenter means describing the future that could be, energetically connecting with others, flexing your speech muscle and transforming lives by being vulnerable and your audaciou self on stage.

Go out and be remarkable!

*All images licesnced via Creative Common – Armosa Studios