The How of WOW: A Guide to Giving a Speech That Will Positively Blow 'Em Away

287 Pages·2005·0.96 MB·English

by  Tony Carlson

The How of WOW
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How
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The of
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A G  G  S T
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T O N Y C A R L S O N
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Carlson,Tony.
ThehowofWOW:aguidetogivingaspeechthatwillpositivelyblow
’emaway/TonyCarlson.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-8144-7251-6
1. Publicspeaking. 2. Communicationinmanagement. I. Title.
PN4193.B8C37 2005
808.5(cid:1)1—dc22
2004022112
(cid:1)2005AnthonyCarlson.
Allrightsreserved.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
Thispublicationmaynotbereproduced,
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ortransmittedinwholeorinpart,
inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,
mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofAMACOM,
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Printingnumber
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Prologue:RisingAbovetheCrowd 1
PART I—Why Should You Care? 7
1. TakeOfftheBushelBasket 9
2. Tried...ButNotNecessarilyTrue 21
3. UnderstandingtheAudience 31
4. PerformanceReady 41
PART II—Before Saying Yes 49
5. You’retheStar 51
6. DoIReallyNeedtoDoThis? 59
PART III—Before You Write a Word 75
7. BePrepared 77
8. FindtheHook 87
9. KeeptheFocusonYou 125
v
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vi Contents
PART IV—As You Write 135
10. GettingDowntoIt 137
11. OfHeadlines,Humor,andAha!s 165
PART V—Showtime 191
12. BeforeYouSayaWord 193
13. StandandDeliver 211
14. AftertheTalking’sDone 229
AppendixA—TheSpeaker’sChecklist 241
AppendixB—ResearchResources 245
AppendixC—WhenSomeoneElseWillWrite
YourSpeech 249
AppendixD—HowAbouttheROI? 265
Index 269
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Acknowledgments
In the general chatter after a major speech given by a client of
mine once, a person who had liked the speech came up to me,
knowingthatIhadwrittenit.
‘‘Greatstuff.Tellme,howlongdidittaketowritethatspeech?’’
Foronceinmylife,Ihadtherightriposteready.
‘‘Allmylife,’’Isaid.AndIwasserious.
Writers draw something fromeveryone with whom they come
in contact, every article they read, movie they see, experience
theyhave.It’scommontothinkthatofcreativeartists,poets,and
fiction writers. But it is also true of the best commercial writers,
for the stories they tell are a distillation of the stories they have
heard,read, andseen,winnowedto thecore,shinedup andpol-
ished andpresented again,like new.It’s nicer tosay thatthan to
thinkthatwejuststealmaterialwilly-nilly.
It’s in that context that I say that all of this work is mine and
minealone.Soanyerrorsaremineandminealone.
That is not to say I didn’t receive tremendous support from a
widerangeofpeopleintheconceptionandbirthofthisbook,and
thespeechestowhichIreferinit.
At the head of that list is clearly my family, not only for their
encouragement—cattle prods were occasionally necessary—and
patience—‘‘Quiet, kids, Dad’s working on his book again . . .
vii
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viii Acknowledgments
still!’’—but also for providing such a rich source of stories and
anecdotes,whichIshamelesslyexploittobringsomecolortothe
presentationpaletteofmyclients.
Mywife,Donna,andchildren,KatieandJenny,aremoreapart
ofthisbookthanthey’lleverknow.Asismylatefather,Don,who
firsttold meabout settingupa strawmanin aspeech morethan
30 years ago, my mother, Madeline, whose fierce Irish pride and
love supports all the dreamers in her extended family, and my
brother,Gus,whoclearedthepathinthepublishingworldforme.
There is also much in this book inspired by a small number of
executives who over the years have had faith in my advice even
whenlawyersandsomePRgreyhairswerecounselingotherwise.
At the top of this group is Bob Ferchat, who began as a boss but
opened his mind to me as a mentor and his heart to me as a
friend.
Withoutquestion,IwanttothankEllenKadin,whoasaneditor
used just the right amount of carrot and stick to get this project
outofmymindandontothepage.
I have imposed on the time and goodwill of all these people
and many more. And now I have the cheek to ask to impose on
yours. You may not like what I have to say. You may not agree
withallor anyofit.Butyou haveonlymediocritytolose.Andan
audiencefullofwowstogain.
Tony Carlson
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The How of WOW
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