Before he wrote seven best-selling books on business, work, and behavior, and before he gave his TED Talk on motivation that has since been viewed 11 million times, Dan Pink spent three years as the chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore. He’s got a simple but powerful presentation tip in this article that I think applies to more than just public speaking.
Pink’s advice is to sound like yourself. And the best way to do that when preparing a talk is to sit with a friend or loved one, turn on a tape recorder, and have your partner ask you questions about the topic. Now instead of presenting, you’re just talking. You’ll be more natural. Your enthusiasm for the topic will be more evident. And you can use the recording as the building block for creating an entire presentation that sounds like you.
When we talk with our Collegewise students about potential stories they could share in their essays, one of the most effective things we can do is to say, “Forget the topic. It’s just you and me talkin’ right now.” The way a student talks about being in the marching band or growing up with a single mom or restoring a classic car with their father is exactly how they should write about it.
This works in virtually all types of communication, whether or not you’re in high school. If you write the company newsletter, or present to your sales team, or craft the verbiage for your website, why would you want to sound like someone else? Even worse, why would you want to sound like everyone else?
There are plenty of them, but only one you.