Telling stories
when public speaking you're telling a story
A few notes from Mark Hess, a great mentor to me, on public speaking and giving a toast:
- You're telling a story, remember the connections between parts
- Your job is to capture the spirit of the idea, or at weddings, the person/couple. You are the expert, educating the audience
- Write down exactly what you want to say even if you don't reference it. Practice before bed the night before
- Bruce Springsteen would find a few people in the audience and play for them, not for the whole crowd. Find your people in the audience and talk to them
- If you need to check your notes, it's easy enough to pull them out and say "it's important to me to get this right, forgive the notes"
- Don't get stuck up there having to pee
- At weddings, 1-2 drinks max before
- And.... have fun with it
