What’s the best speech title you ever came up with?
Whilst you’re thinking about it I’ll carry on.

My best title was… “The Tyranny of the Or”

“The Tyranny of the Or” is a concept discussed in the book “Built to Last” published by the Stanford Business School.
In the Authors words…
 

“The tyranny of the or moves people to believe that things must be one way or another… but never both.

You can be either conservative or bold, work for purpose or profit, be a low-cost producer or offer a high quality product… but never both.”

I took that idea and applied it to the lives of everyday folk, pointing out how we limit our potential and pigeon hole ourselves.

“As toddlers we’re shy or precocious, independent or clingy…..

Yes, I can see a few mummy’s boys out there.

At school we’re lots of things, sporty or academic, dunce or swot,

doing well….. or could do better.”

I gave that speech at the Association of Speakers Clubs National Finals in 2008 and even now, people quote the title back to me.

Seems that titles are powerful things, so let’s delve a little deeper.
 

The secret of a good speech title

According to Laura Rozakis author of “The Idiot’s Guide to Public Speaking” speech titles have two purposes:

“They suggest the general content of the speech while simultaneously grabbing the audience’s attention.

Think of the title as an advertisement. If successful, the title should make the listener want to hear more.”

So there you have it, follow the lead of the advertisers, make your titles punchy, catchy, and memorable.

Who knows, perhaps your next speech title will be:

“Lip smacking, thirst quenching, ace tasting, motivating, good buzzing, cool walking, high talking, fast living, ever giving…..PEPSI!”

Too long?

OK try the Renault advert:

“Rain? Kiss my glass.”

Ooooh, now that is naughty, but it’s a title you won’t forget.

Write your title last

Because titles come at the beginning, people assume that you have to write them first, but you don’t.

When you write your speech ideas will come in thick and fast and those ideas will include speech titles.

Keep a record of the titles you come up with and take a fresh look at them once you’ve finished writing your speech.

“Write the title last, after you have finished the entire speech.

Creating a title that is both intriguing and suitable will be easier after you have written the rest of the speech.”

Laura Rozakis, Ph.D.

There’s no rush to decide on a title.

It’s not needed until your speech is finished, so write it last.
 

To create closure… finish on your speech title

When you deliver your final line, the audience has to know that it’s your final line and they will start clapping… hopefully.

If they don’t know it’s your final line, they won’t clap and you will be forced to say… “Thank you” the audience will then clap and you will be taken away by the “Speech ending” police and shot.

“The conclusion must give your audience a feeling that your presentation is complete.

People have a psychological need for closure.

They want a presentation to have a beginning, a middle and an end – especially an end.

They don’t want to be left hanging. Your conclusion must address this need.”

Malcolm Kushner

A sure fire way to let the audience know that you are delivering your final line, is to finish on your Speech title.

I gave a speech whose purpose was to persuade people to go on a skiing holiday.

The title was “An Alpine Aria.”

During the speech I said…

“You’ll make lots of pals skiing and they’re all slightly odd.

I used to ski with a guy called Marko.

During the summer he worked at Glyndebourne opera house, and when he skied he sang an alpine aria to the whole mountain.”

I finished with…

“And so madam chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to join me.

To see those mountains, to ski those slopes, and to sing your own, alpine aria.”

Do you see how it puts a full stop at the end of the speech?

It gives a marvellous sense of closure and cues the audience to start their standing ovation… if only.

Ideas for great speech titles

It can be difficult to come up with a good speech title, so here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Adapt a book title – “The Unbearable Darkness of Seeing”
2. A film (movie) title – “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”
3. Use a pun – “Product Pricing: Now Makes Cents!”
4. Ask a question – “Now I’ve got a Computer, What Do I Do with it?”
5. Be surprising – “Say Yes to Stress”
6. Be a little naughty – “Discipline without Bondage”
7. Adapt a saying – “Sedimentary My Dear Watson”

Hope that those help, but if they don’t, there is one method of finding a speech title that never fails….

Your title is in your speech

The truth is, your title is often hidden in your speech.

A phrase, a sentence a little flash of rhetoric.

“Lincoln, in his first inaugural address said:

“The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched… by the better angels of our nature.”

The phrase “mystic chords of memory” would have made an eloquent title of that speech if custom didn’t dictate that it be simply labelled “Inaugural Address.”

Thomas Montalbo

So write your speech in full then read it through and find that magic phrase that sums up your speech and then you can go with “Inaugural Address” or you can use your own “Mystic Chords of Memory”.

A trick for your blog post titles

Blog post titles are a little trickier than speech titles because not only are you writing for people, you’re writing for the Search Engine bots and in particular Mr Googlebot.

That means that your title has to be a great advert and contain your keywords… seems like an impossible task.

So here’s my solution:

When you first publish your post go with that punchy eye-catching headline.

Once the interest drops off and the comments stop coming in, change the title to one that contains your keywords.

Works for me, hope it works for you.

Time to have your say

So what’s the best title you’ve come up with?

What gems have you crafted over the years?

Please feel free to leave a comment, ask a question or pass on tips of your own.

About Keith Davis
A Yorkshireman who now lives in Solihull in the West Midlands about half an hour from Stratford-upon-Avon.

I’m a member of the Association of Speakers Clubs and I’ve appeared in both their Speech and Evaluation National finals.

My CommentLuv profile describes me as…
“A passionate Public Speaker with a mission to help you overcome your fear of Public Speaking.”
Hope you enjoy the post.

Credits:
My thanks and gratitude to the following from whose books I have learnt much and quoted often.

Laura Rozakis, Ph.D. “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Public Speaking”

Malcolm Kushner “Public Speaking for Dummies”

Thomas Montalbo “The Power of Eloquence”

Stanford Business School “Built to last”

And thanks to the following whose graphics add something that words never could.

UggBoy via Flickr for the Meaning of Life graphic.

J from the UK via Flickr for the Mariah Carey graphic.

With a little practice, we can all speak clearly, we can all make dynamic gestures, we can all talk with passion, but how many of us can do it in front of an audience?

There’s a great line in one of the Sharpe TV movies, Sean Bean who plays Sharpe is addressing a group of soldiers who are about to see action for the first time.

He looks at the raw recruits and says…

“When the French attack, they advance in lines. Whatever happens, they keep moving forward.
All you have to do is fire three rounds a minute and stand your ground.
Now we all know that you can fire three rounds a minute… but can you stand?”

It’s the same with public speaking, you have to know how to put a speech together and deliver it with style, but you have to be able to look straight at the audience… and hold your nerve.

Speech technique

The first part… putting the speech together and delivering it… is about speech technique, and this bit is farly easy. It covers things such as:

1. Structuring your speech so that the audience can follow easily
2. Preparing notes to help with delivering your speech
3. Making eye contact with the audience
4. Using vocal variety to liven up your speech
5. Pausing at just the right moment… in order to add drama or emphasise a point
6. Using humour to give the audience a break from a heavy message
7. Controlling your hands and using gestures that add drama or emphasise a point

There are lots of speech techniques (and we’ll cover them one by one in future articles) and you can learn most of them by reading books, watching videos or observing other speakers. You need to be in front of an audience to polish these skills but you can learn a lot well away from the dreaded audience.

Holding your nerve

The second part… holding your nerve… is the hard bit, it requires learning a few techniques and lots of practice. For most of us, it’s the bit we focus on, unfortunately this bit gets in the way of all the other bits, so we can’t ignore it.

Techniques to help with nerves include:

1. Positive self talk
2. Deep breathing
3. Practising as though you had an audience
4. Practising in front of friends and family
5. Practise in front of an audience

Practise both bits

Our advice is to practise both bits… learn as much technique as you can by reading books, watching videos, visiting public speaking blogs and of course… visiting this site. At the same time start working on the nerves. Join a Speakers Club (more of that in future articles) and get some real life practice, audience and all, in a friendly and supportive environment.

It can all seem too much when you first start, but don’t worry, over the next weeks, months even years, we’ll teach you how to fire three rounds a minute, and more importantly… we’ll teach you how to stand!

Credits:
Thanks to stock.xchng for allowing us to use their ABC image