Painting Pictures with Words
An illustration gives lfe to a talk and can help your audience to understand a point more easily. With your illustration you really want to paint a picture that your audience will remember the point not just the story. Simple illustrations are usually the best. The illustration wants to be drawn from things that your audience already understand and recognize. Complex things can often be understood if a simple illustration is used.
Here is an example. Let’s say you are giving a talk to students and you want to stress the need to learn from others throughout life. You could here in the UK take a £2 coin and read what it says that is written around the edge. “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”. Those words were uttered by the great scientist Sir Isaac Newton to show that what he had learnt was only because he was able to build his knowledge on what others had already done before him.
This is a very simple illustration. What is important, is that your audience will remember this every time they see a £2 coin which is an everyday object in the UK. Of course the illsutration in this case has more value in the UK but you can see the point. Use an everyday object or situation and the illustration will be easier to remember.
I recommend that speakers write down ideas that come to them for an illustration as soon as they see one that can be used. You can develop a storehouse of illustrations that you can then call on when the opportunity arrives to use them.
Illustrations can take many forms and in the Public Speaking Course we will help you to lean how to use these.
What is your favourite illustration? Please share it by commenting below.
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