Speaking Strategies: Water Cooler Message

00:00 It's the first thing I ask my clients before they get up to speak.

00:04 During a day of training, I say, Time out.

00:07 What's your water cooler message? And typically they'll say, well, I have the following seven points.

00:12 I'm a that's not a water cooler message.

00:15 By water cooler, I mean, how would someone who's listening to you not taking notes but paying attention? How would someone listening to you actually describe what your whole speech was about to someone at the water cooler later that afternoon or the lunchroom or the water cooler the next day? How would they actually describe it in the way a real person talks? Most people have an extraordinarily difficult time conceptualizing how other people will talk about their presentation.

00:45 This is a crucial step.

00:48 If you don't have this, then you're kind of lost.

00:52 For example, I'm giving you a series of dozens and dozens and dozens of videos here on how to be a better speaker.

00:59 But I'm hoping that if you watch every single one and someone says, Hey, why don't you take away from this T.J.

01:06 characters video series on public speaking? I'm hoping what you would tell people is, you know, what's really important is narrow.

01:14 Any speech down to a handful of your five best ideas.

01:17 Have a story for each one.

01:20 And most important, practice on video until you like your speech.

01:25 If you forget everything else I've said, if you remember that, and you're telling people at the water cooler, that's the message, then I've succeeded.

01:33 How do you define your own success? You cannot be successful unless you know in advance the water cooler message you want people saying about your speech.