Motivational Speaking Props
Props are so captivating, so effective, so connecting for your motivational speaking job. In his book, Do Not Go
Naked Into Your Next Presentation, Ron Hoff discusses the importance of good props:
I’ve been trying to forget the O.J. Simpson trial, but one picture
keeps developing itself over and over in my mind. It’s defense attorney
Johnny Cochran, delivering his summation to the jury. He’s wearing a dark
stocking cap, pulled down right over his head. The cap was a piece of
prosecution evidence, but it didn’t look very dangerous on Johnny. And the
most compelling part of this picture is that it’s locked in my brain forever.
Images have a way of doing that. Never underestimate the power of a vivid
image to make linkages into the mind that words alone simply cannot
accomplish.
Cochran’s is a good example of prop-power. I’ve already related a number of
instances when speakers used props with excellent effect. You’ve probably seen
examples as well.
It’s always fun when you use props that you can hand out to members of the
audience. My friend, Marda, gave a presentation entitled, “Who Packs Your
Parachute?” in which, instead of simply thanking the audience for all the community
service they’d done, she gave each audience member a little plastic paratrooper –
something memorable for them. Great fuel!
As mentioned earlier, I once used nine different props in a speech. Also,
whenever I tell one of my signature stories — the Nordstrom Story — I actually hold up
the ratty old green shirt I’m talking about, so the audience can see it. When I share
about my phone call to my wife, I actually speak into my cell phone. When I mention
that I was lacking cash for a transaction, I pull out my wallet from my back pocket and
rummage through it with a sad look on my face. I don’t just tell about the tie I bought, I
wear it and flaunt it.
This is the captivating power of props, and they are especially essential in
meeting the needs of visual and kinesthetic learners in your audience.
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Tags: Motivational speaker