5 Steps to Presenting Like a Rock Star! Part I

The first step to presenting like a Rock Star is to write the refrain for your speech.

A refrain (also known as chorus, core message, thesis, or main point) is the one thing you want your audience to remember.

It's the whole reason for your speech. It's what you're attempting to prove.

It's what you want them to sing along with.

Look at these examples from the work of music.

• Tramps like us, baby we were Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
• I still haven't found what I'm looking for - U2
• It's just another Manic Monday - The Bangles / Prince
• We can work it out - The Beatles
• It's times like these... - Foo Fighters
• All these things that I've done - The Killers

I know... you're thinking, "That's music! What does that have to do with a speech?"

Here are a few more examples:

• I have a dream - Martin Luther King
• Tear down the wall - Ronald Reagan
• Where was George? - Ted Kennedy

Hmm... seemed to work pretty well for them, huh?

I know what you're thinking. Glenn, this is too obvious... too manipulative.

I'd feel uncomfortable using such a transparent mechanism.

Well, it's a mechanism because it works. It's cognitive candy.

Here's my argument:

Bob Dylan is a freakin' poet. You may hate his voice.

You may hate his music. But he's a poet.

And he uses refrains.

• The answer my friend is blowing in the wind
• Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door
• All along the watchtower
• Like a rolling stone

Let me tell you. If it's good enough for Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Martin Luther King, and Ronald Reagan... it's good enough for you.

So, here's your homework: Write the refrain for a speech or presentation you're going to give in the next few weeks.

Tomorrow we'll cover the next step - writing your verses.