Not Like Grandma Used to Make
My Grandma Florence was a five-foot-nothing spitfire. Having grown up in rural Ohio she worked hard on the farm and spent lots of time making home-cooked meals for hungry farmhands. To this day some of the baked goods she made are unrivaled in my mind because of how good they were and how much I looked forward to having them.
There was only one problem; my grandmother never wrote anything down. What was even more frustrating (in selfishly trying to hold on to some of my favorite recipes over time), is that she never measured anything! Watching grandma cook and bake was like watching a musician who has performed so many times it all happens automatically. There were no recipes. There were no measurements. Grandma just knew what it took to make what she made.
For some people, public speaking is like that. Yes...you are free to be a bit bitter at those people. For some people content, humor and presence captivatingly flows out out of them effortlessly. Yet there are not as many of these people as you might assume. It has consistently amazed me over time how much time and effort goes into making something look absolutely effortless. In nearly every example you can think of, the individual has spent considerable time and utilized some structure to craft their talk.
The Framework
With that said, I want to provide you with a framework to build your talk. Please understand, this as a starting point. After awhile you will likely tweak the framework to fit your own needs and match your personality. Yet often I find myself coming back to this framework again and again. The framework boils down to four questions:
- What do they need to know?
- Why is it important?
- What do they need to do?
- Why do they need to do it?
What Do They Need to Know?
Whether the topic you are slated to speak on was assigned from someone else or you selected it, this is the question from which the rest of your talk should flow. Another way to say this is:
If I only have 30 seconds to explain what my talk is about, what do I say?
Understand, we are not giving intricate details here. As developers we sometimes get excited about how the latest release of our favorite library simplifies the syntax thereby granting us more customizable access to the API which...
You see my point?
All of that stuff is important, and we will find the time and place for those details. However the base of your talk needs to have a focused, simple statement upon which you can build.
Some examples:
Moving your company to the latest version of our software will dramatically reduce development time and improve your customer experience.
Adopting a company-wide style guide promotes professionalism and cohesiveness to potential clients.
Using this front-end design framework will help your app look, allowing you to focus on logic and development
This is not necessarily a talk title or your lead statement. However the answer to 'What do they need to know?' will help your presentation stay focused. It is out of this question you can build the main body of your talk including examples, details and more. However before the audience is willing to invest brain power you have to convince them of something...
Why is it important?
'So what?' is a question I have way too often from my still-not-yet-a-teenage oldest child. Yet the question is one that, whether we like it or not, the audience is asking. Sure, we would love to believe that because we have the mic, or the podium, or are on stage, or have the PowerPoint remote that the audience is inherently captivated by what we have to say.
However I want you to think for a moment how many presentations you have mentally checked out on, no matter how many cool slide transitions the presenter had.
The first question was about clarifying what your audience needs to know. The second question helps answer, 'So what?' This helps the audience buy in, believing that your talk is something that directly applies to their situation.
Some examples (continued from above):
Right now your company is likely looking for ways to reduce development time (thereby saving money), and improve customer experience (thereby creating good rapport and giving a better chance at a return customer). The investment in the latest version of our software will achieve both of those goals. Here is how...
Present a document with six different font sizes, preferably in courier sans. Have some items bolded, some underlined, etc. Question: does this document, if put out by my business make you think I am representing a Fortune 500 company or a 10 year old with a lemonade stand? While this is a dramatic example, this is the inherent result when a dozen employees produce company documents using however much creativity they desire. On the other hand - how would your company's appearance of professionalism improve if everything had a cohesive look and feel?
When it comes down to web app development, I do not know about you but I love making things work. I do not, however, love spending hours messing with CSS to get things to look good. What if I suggested there was a simple step that would help your web app look good, allowing you to focus more on simply making it work?
If it looks like my examples are the first sentences of three talks, you are right. Each example could use some work but I hope you can see that companies looking to reduce costs, improve professionalism or spend more time on logic and development rather than design would have their ears perk up.
What Do They Need To Do?
Thus far you know what your talk is about and have helped pique the interest of your audience so that they want to listen. This third question helps your audience decide, 'now what?' Was this just a download of information or is there a step you want your audience to take with the information they have just been presented?
Chances are good if you wish them well and release your audience at this point, they may have enjoyed what you had to say, but very few will follow-up on it. The sooner you can move them to some point of action, the better.
Examples (again, continued from earlier):
We want to give you a three-month risk-free trial of our software with a personal technical assistant on call to answer your questions. This will give you the chance to see the benefit of our software solution and the value it can bring to your company.
I have provided for you a simple example of a basic style guide that your company can modify to what meets your needs. Also you will find at the bottom of the page a website where you can find a variety of more in-depth style guides used by major corporations.
Design frameworks allow you to hone in on the logic and function of your app while helping it to still look amazing. On your handout you can find the one that I have highlighted today, but also you will find a list of other design frameworks that may be right for you.
Not every talk will have an immediate action step. The step you provide, however, takes the information you presented and gives a clear idea of what to do with that information. In the above examples, the first invites participants to do something right then. The second example allows more of a now-or-later approach, and the final is likely geared toward when the developer begins his or her next project. Yet in laying out a next step you help your audience answer, 'Now what?'
Why Do They Need to Do it?
Your talk began helping your audience understand why they should listen. Now that you have had your opportunity to unpack the information and present a clear next step consider this...
What happens if your audience does not do what you have asked them to do?
Before we get too far into this piece of the framework, can we all acknowledge that most talks will not result in decisions of life-or-death (for an individual or company)?
I say this because one inappropriate approach of this question is to pretend as though the whole of the cosmos hangs in the balance of your audience following through on your next step from earlier. Instead of offering veiled horror stories, invite them to imagine what would happen if they take the step you offered?
Examples:
Consider for a second what could change for your business if you took advantage of our three-month free trial. I have spent this time offering to you the benefits and features of our software but what does it look like three months from now if you try it out? If it isn't for you, that is fine. You have spent time growing in knowledge of available products and all it cost you was a small bit of time. However what if our software truly can reduce development time and enhance customer experience. How could that make an impact on your business in just three months time?
Implementing a style guide for your business will not happen just by flipping a switch and taking time. There will be some growing pains just like any time you try to have people alter what they have done before. However think of the difference perceived by someone interacting with sales, accounting, HR and tech support if everything has a consistent look. Suddenly even with a small team of a half-dozen your publications and communications have the feel of a much larger corporation.
What if the next project you have in mind; whatever it may be, you were able to really dive into the logic and functionality, and everything on the UI side just worked and looked good too? How much time and frustration would you save if that whole piece was just...easy? That is what a design framework can make happen...
As you can likely tell putting this right near the very end of your talk is a great lasting impression. You began by enticing your audience about why your topic is important and after giving them specifics and details, you give them an action step and demonstrate the difference it can make.
So...that's it?
As I said earlier, these questions serve as a framework to help you build your talk. There is still a tremendous amount which could be said about content, examples, visuals and more. However it is my hope this helps you get started on your first (or next) talk.
Currently my plan is for the next articles in this series to cover:
- Part 3 - How to present your talk
- Part 4 - Tips on adding to rather than taking away from your talk
What other topics should be addressed? Let me know your thoughts, questions and reactions in the comments below.
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