Diane Di Resta - Speak with Power and Confidence

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We all fear that moment. You are ready to give a speech. You look out on a sea of faces and your mind goes blank. You can't remember your next point, and you wish you could disappear with your memory. But here are some tips to avoid blanking out:

1. Rehearse out loud. You'll remember more when you hear your own voice. Record it and play it back. Listen to your presentation in the car or as you fall asleep.
2. Practice the 3x5, 3x5 rule. Avoid one lengthy rehearsal. Instead, divide it into short sections and practice them three to five times a day for three to five days. Frequency of repetition aids memory.
3. Create key words and phrases. The idea is to memorize concepts – not words. Bullet points prompt you to focus on key points and not read your slides.
4. Exaggerate the visual. For each concept or bullet, take the key word and turn it upside down, enlarge it, color code it, change the font. Exaggeration makes the concept more memorable and aids retention. (Of course, this is for your rehearsals, not for the audience.)
5. Use pictures. The mind thinks in pictures, not in words. Use icons, graphics and symbols as prompts and you'll be amazed at how easily you remember your content.
6. Tell your story. People learn better and retain more when you tell them stories. A situation that you experienced has a natural sequence, which helps you recall events. Stories don't have to be touchy-feely. Just share an interesting experience as a case study or tell a ‘before and after’ success scenario.
7. Engage other senses. This is called ‘synesthesia.’ Your ability to recall increases based on the intensity of your experience. For example, if you're talking about a financial downturn in the market, imagine hearing a warning siren or feeling what it's like to be outside in a torrential downpour.
8. Associate. Take your concepts and create an acronym. To recall the process of managing question-and-answer periods, I use CRAM: concentrate, repeat, answer and move on. Comedians use this technique. They assign each story or "bit" a key word. They take the first letter of the key word from each story and form an acronym. This keeps them on track and they can easily access the segments in correct sequence for a one-hour monologue without notes!
9. Make complex data concrete. Use analogies and demonstrations to make the data come alive. The audience will understand it better, and you will recall it more easily.
10. Get physical. By acting out parts of the presentation you maximize your memory. Walk to one side of the room when you are talking about past history. Then, move to the opposite side when you're making future projections. You'll trigger your memory when you physically change your position. And the audience will be anxious to hear your message.
11. Recover with grace. If you do forget, pause and give yourself time to remember. Or use humor. But always have a fall-back exercise. For instance, ask the audience to repeat your last three points. Put them in pairs and have them talk to their partner for one minute about an important point. This gives you time to recall and recover.

When it comes to remembering your speech, you can blank out and say, “Hasta la Vista, Baby, or like Arnold Schwarzenegger, you can achieve Total Recall.

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