5 Timeless Speaking Tips

The national sales conference.

99% of wholesalers have attended/will attend theirs between December and February.

It’s a tradition carried on by countless firms over the last 117 years.

Here’s what audiences said made speakers great at the N.C.R. National Sales Conference* held in July 1902.

Earnestness in Speech: Everything about them says, “I mean business. I’m not here for fun, or because I was sent, or because I haven’t anything else to do. I’m here because I believe something, and I’m going to make you believe it too.”

Be Simple, Direct and Straightforward: Talk is for the listener’s benefit, not the speakers. It is the listener who must work to understand it – the speaker understands it before they begin. Make the listener’s work as easy as possible.

Emphasis of Leading Ideas: Have your most important points before you all the time. Never let the audience lose sight of the main points.

Secure Attention: The speakers who secured attention all began by talking about the audience.

They spoke first of the audience’s experiences, and led the audience from that side of the subject to their side – to the points they wished to make. They began with what the audience thought, and led to what they thought.

Value of Illustration: The convincing speakers were all concrete. They used illustrations constantly.

That’s what audiences believed in 1902.

It’s still what they believe today.