The annual LBS Mini-Keynote Competition, which challenges contestants, engages audiences, and delivers brilliant insights, was scheduled a month earlier this year. But it was no less impressive than last year’s programme.
As has been the case since I proposed and helped launch the event in 2019, I was required to lead the judges’ panel. I was also tasked with finding three judges, two of whom would be virtual. But my duties began weeks before the competition:
- I watched audition videos and selected the top nine who would compete in the event. (I only met the speakers for the first time during the virtual coaching sessions afterwards.)
- I provided the topics, ranging from the curse of knowledge, talent attraction, and AI vs the cost of power to female representation in the C-suite, lessons for African entrepreneurs from Forbes self-made billionaires, education reform in Africa, the relevance of flexible work post-pandemic, and tackling burnout.
- I delivered four coaching cycles for the speakers, with each session ranging from two to three hours during which they presented, and I analysed their slides and gave suggestions for improving their performances.
So, when the two in-person judges and I met at the venue, joined by the two virtual judges in the deliberation room, I knew the event would be memorable and that the speakers would deliver.
I wasn’t wrong.
Keynote after keynote, not only did the speakers present with passion and confidence, but some delivered outstanding presentations that kept me grinning from ear to ear and applauding at the end.
But what made those speeches exceptional, despite the stringent criteria I provided for the judges’ assessment?
The memorable speakers did the usual things well, as highlighted in a post on best practices from previous keynote speakers, who impressed judges and audiences. However, as I watched the speakers this year, I realised a critical point:
Their keynotes ensured resonance, a difficult feat. Below are the behaviours the speakers displayed that helped their content and delivery to resonate with the judges and the audience:
1) They kept their content simple and their slides clean
Now, the nine topics the speakers tackled were tough.
Even the ‘light’ topics such as ‘The Understated Benefit of Rest: Tackling Burnout & Restoring Resilience’, ‘The Flexible Work Programme Under Scrutiny: Is It Still Relevant, Years After the Pandemic?’, and ‘The Curse of Knowledge: Why Being Smart Is Overrated’ packed a lot of punch. So, when the judge who sat next to me commented that some topics were easier than others (alluding to the ‘tough’ options, e.g., ‘African Innovation Deserves the World Stage: How to Level the Playing Field’ and ‘The Battle for Survival: AI Vs the Cost of Power’), I smiled and advised him not to be quick to judge.
And after the speaker who tackled one of the ‘light’ topics spoke, I turned to him:
‘See what I meant?’
He nodded and finally said, ‘Interesting’. And I knew what he understood. That speaker delivered a superb presentation by keeping her delivery simple and her slides clean with little text and more visuals. She was also engaging from the beginning to the end.
‘Simple does not mean simplistic’ is my mantra when I lecture or deliver communication workshops and seminars for professionals and leaders. The most effective speakers avoid complexity and distil essential nuggets into digestible chunks.
As I always say, anyone can make a theme complex. It takes a real skill to make the complex simple and to deliver the information in a way that enables the audience to ‘get it’ — the exact argument they’re championing.
Speakers who present their big idea in simple terms also excel in the principle of subtraction. They don’t overload their slides with information, no matter how interesting it is, if it doesn’t justify its place in their presentations.
The lesson for you
Aim for simplicity.
Study your material thoroughly so you can explain its main premise to a 12-year-old, who should understand it and be able to repeat it to you. If you’re unsure how to achieve this, ask yourself the ‘why’ question at least to the third degree. That tactic will quickly reveal gaps in your understanding, allowing you to refine your approach.
Once your presentation is simple, and your big idea can be repeated, the following steps will help anchor resonance in your delivery:
A) Declutter your slides (strip them of their text by at least 60%).
By all means, use AI to design your slides to make them visually stunning or interactive. (One speaker’s slides were of premium quality. And during a coaching session, when I enquired about the tools she used, she explained she had used three AI tools to achieve the ‘wow’ effect.)
However, don’t skip the pruning task. Decluttering will force you to leave only critical, minimal text on the screen, enabling you to deliver the essential points verbally rather than hide behind verbose slides. Also, this move will reduce the audience’s cognitive load when they’re trying to read, understand, and process your dense slide text while listening to you (some won’t bother and may ignore you altogether).
B) Use your nonverbal cues (gestures, movement, pauses, etc.) to gain trust and boost your credibility.
These cues help you build rapport quickly. When the audience trusts you, they become less critical of your ideas and even more accommodating of your errors.
C) Incorporate rhetorical tools (metaphor, repetition, rhyming, the rule of three, etc.)
These techniques create the ‘entertainment’ for the audience. Aim to delight them.
Remember: When your communication is simple, you become believable.
2) They made their delivery conversational
The best keynote speakers in the competition provided an experience.
One speaker used a relatable prop (a mobile phone power bank), which nailed the point about the need to recharge to prevent burnout for the ‘Rest’ topic. Another speaker posed a simple riddle, then gave the audience a few seconds to think before revealing the one-word answer — trust — that underpinned her recommendations for the ‘Talent Retention’ topic. Others used simple language and familiar terms. But they all had one thing in common:
On stage, they appeared to be having a conversation with a good friend.
They used simple words, moved closer to the audience to emphasise important points, incorporated pauses to let those points marinate, and used gestures organically.
For those speakers, I tilted my head when they offered profound insights (which I called soundbites in the pre-event coaching sessions) — and which one of the virtual judges called ‘sticky’ messages, e.g., ‘How to make work, work’ and ‘Technology is attractive; technology is photogenic’. When a particular phrase resonated, I heard audible gasps from the audience followed by loud ‘Hmm’s.
I had seen all the presentations before the event, before the speakers had refined them. So, I knew the effort they had to expend and how much they needed to practise to ensure their delivery appeared fluid. Effortless.
The conversational style of some speakers made us feel as if they were inviting us into their world. As a result, we were fully tuned in, hung on every word, and considered them credible and trustworthy.
The most effective communication focuses on connection, as my peer and presentation skills coach, Kolarele Sonaike often says. And he’s right.
The lesson for you
If you want your presentation to resonate, strip away the dry, academic or consulting-grade style and speak in a conversational tone to draw the audience in.
But a note of caution: Conversational does not mean unprepared or sloppy. Do the hard work first. Non-negotiable steps that will turn a stilted approach into a conversational style that forms rapport with your audience include:
A) Structuring your presentation using the ABF Formula™
This simple framework can be adapted to the context and audience. Ensure you tackle the what’s-in-it-for-me (WIIFM) premise. Or address why your audience should care, by focusing on what you want them to know, feel, and do, and then tailor your content accordingly.
B) Incorporating storytelling (anecdote, brief cautionary tale, or short narrative) to incite emotions and influence
A misconception is that a story needs to be long or have the classic three-arc Hollywood structure to be considered complete. A story, complete with delighting one or more of the five senses, can be provided in less than two minutes.
But why should you incorporate stories in your (high-stakes) speech or presentation?
Neuroscience explains that storytelling releases chemicals such as cortisol (which sharpens focus) and oxytocin (which bonds you with your audience and incites empathy). Stories also trigger neural coupling or brain-to-brain synchronisation, enabling you, the storyteller, and your audience to experience the same emotions — giving you a superpower to wield to influence them.
Still, you need to ensure your story is relevant and that it links to a specific point. The speaker, whose topic was ‘Female Representation in the C-suite’, told short stories about four women who broke the glass ceiling. One notable example was a woman who, at 38, with an eight-month-old child, was selected to lead one of the most luxurious hospitality companies due to her impressive track record — an unprecedented development in the country.
Stories arouse emotions, connect you to the audience on a deeper level, and give your big idea staying power.
And yes, days later, I still remember the points made because of the stories the speaker told.
C) Practising until you become flexible in your delivery
Practice won’t make you perfect, and that’s the point. It helps you adapt to the audience’s cues, adjusting your delivery to preserve the bond you built with them from the beginning of your presentation.
Then, intentionally using ‘you’ and ‘we’ as much as possible makes you relatable and your content unforgettable.
And that’s how you create an impact.
Conclusion
Just like the LBS Mini-Keynote Competition contestants, the most impressive speakers understand that resonance anchors their delivery.
The ultimate goal of your presentation is not to impress the audience with your achievements or convince them of your intelligence. Nor should it be about receiving a standing ovation.
Your focus should be on presenting ideas in ways that stir your audience, inspiring them to think differently or do something they may not have previously considered. They should leave feeling empowered to take an action, no matter how little, based on your overall delivery (and some may approach you afterwards to reveal the effect you had on them).
Above all, aim to be useful.
If your speech doesn’t move your audience and nothing changes even in their mindset, you’ve failed.
Remember that.
Note:
If your organisation is looking to measure, benchmark, and strengthen communication capabilities using the Global 4-Domain Communication Skills Rating Tool™, please email Lucille@LucilleOssai.com.
Assessment-led communication development programmes and keynote speaking engagements are also available.
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N.B: First image is courtesy of Beta Gamma Sigma, Lagos Business School. Second image is courtesy of Pete Linforth via Pixabay.