How do you plant the seed of an idea in someone’s mind?
In the future, maybe it will be through a plug. Something like that: I have an idea in mind, I plug my brain to yours, and you instantly receive the idea. (To my knowledge, this technology isn’t available yet.)
Another powerful way to convey an idea is to deliver a speech. If you have tried it, you know that it’s a hard exercise. Despite having done it many times, I still struggle to deliver a speech in a fluid manner.
One thing that has helped me is to look at my speech as a sequence of content blocks. I have discovered that there are 8 different types of blocks — and that a solid speech contains at least one block of each type.
The 8 types of blocks
Core idea. The whole talk should revolve around one core idea. Everything else is just there to support it. A core idea is usually new or counterintuitive for the audience.
Reframing statement. One way to make people adopt the core idea is make them look at something they know, then to suggest a different lens to look at it, which opens up a new world. In that new world lives the core idea.
Metaphors. Metaphors are learning bridges: first, you take a reference people are familiar with, then, you introduce a new reference, and finally, you use a metaphor to highlight the commonalities between the familiar reference and the new reference. By doing so, you help people understand, store and retrieve that new piece of information.
Sources of knowledge. Mention things that have inspired what you are talking about. By being transparent about your sources, you build credibility regarding some of your statements, while allowing people to dig further if they are really interested.
Specific examples. When people are exposed for the first time to a new idea, its implications aren’t obvious. Your audience can grasp the core idea faster by seeing its benefits in specific situations.
Elements of context. Talks can become too theoretical. By adding elements of context, you help people figure out if their situation is the same as yours. You provide limits to your own assertions, preventing the pitfall of sounding more dogmatic than you would like.
Personal stories. To demonstrate your belief in the content you’re sharing, you can strengthen the link between your content and yourself.
Attention tricks. Regardless of the quality of the other blocks, your audience’s attention will wander, unless their brain is teased by something. Spread attention tricks across the talk to keep their attention at the highest level.
From theory to practice
If you want to see how all those blocks can come together, here is an attempt of mine:
(The talk lasts 32 minutes. The remaining of the video is answers to follow up questions.)
In this talk, I used:
1 core idea,
1 reframing statement,
4 metaphors,
3 sources of knowledge,
3 specific examples,
1 element of context,
3 personal stories,
7 attention tricks.
How many can you spot?
Thank you to Laurent Wakim, Timothée Trichet, Nicolas Chan, Julien Lafitte and Neil Tamzali for reading early drafts of this article.