Week 2 update

Good to see you again / sorry to have missed you

In today’s session we looked at the second and third parts of classical rhetoric:

2. Arrangement (of your material)

Whether you are facing an audience of hard-nosed customers, or warm-hearted relatives, you are well advised to find stories that convey the effect you want to have.

Every story has a hero, of some kind. The hero is anybody who is struggling, but not giving up (no matter how tempting that may be).

Bearing in mind your purpose in giving this talk, what emotional journey do you want to give your audience? In our session we heard that one of you will be facing an audience that is likely to feel exhausted / fed up / wary / defensive at the start of the presentation; and that we hope they will feel relieved and trusting towards the end.

3. Style (polish it up, with figures of speech)

Making a good speech isn’t about being florid and elaborate. You should speak naturally. But you should polish up the key insights, to make them really memorable.

I showed you my notebook, full of figures of speech. To help you start your own version, I’ve added (below) a download with ideas about figures of speech you might want to start collecting.

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From Week 1

Hello.

Thanks for joining me at the How To Academy.

You can find the Mind Map of Invention below, and the Spectrum of Communications.

The mind map has two pages: the first contains tips for you to consider as you fill out the second, which is blank.

There’s more

If you want to go a bit further, I’ve created a private Facebook Group exclusively for participants in this How To Academy Course.

You can share your exercises with me between our scheduled How To Academy Zooms, and find out how to join me for two additional Q&As.

I’m not selling anything. I just want to make this the best possible experience, so that I can do it again another time!

To join the private Facebook group, see:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/475391793564384/

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Download the handouts here:

Week 2 handout

Figures of Speech JPF for the How To Academy.pdf (276.7 kB)

Week 1 handouts

How To Academy Mind Map of Invention John-Paul Flintoff.pdf (1.7 MB)
Spectrum of Communication John-Paul Flintoff for the How To Academy.pdf (631.4 kB)