Micro-statements, spikes and other great advice about public/professional speaking from Graham Davies

I've been hard at work in the past few weeks upgrading some material for my presentations and also developing some completely new material.

My trusty guide has been this book. Please read my previous recommendations about this wonderful resource here and here.

Since I first read this in 2011 I have kept it close by and have dipped into it frequently. This time I did a serious deep dive.

Graham's concept of micro-statements is a game-changer in presentation preparation. I've development several new ones recently and have road tested two of them very successfully in the past week.

Graham says "A micro-statement is a sequence of words that quickly and compellingly captures the essence of your presentation in a way that is specifically shaped for the needs of a specific audience at a particular time."

Other concepts I love about Graham's work are knowing our audience's starting and finishing position and spiking beginnings and endings.

Graham says "The audience will be persuaded to adopt the point of view in your desired finishing position because of the information and concepts contained in your micro-statement."

On spikes Graham says that they "must be sharp enough to turn them without pissing them off ... Spikes cut through to what the audience really needs to hear ... Effective spikes are the hard edges that cut through the fluff between you and the audience."

I segment most of my presentation into 20 minute pieces. Graham's 'Bare Knuckle' structure is perfect for this and for any time you need to prepare a speech whether you have 5 minutes, 5 weeks or 5 months.

Most leaders I meet can be better speakers.

There's also many good speakers who could be remarkable.

Whichever camp you're in I highly recommend Graham's book. Find out more about the book and Graham's work.

Be remarkable.
Ian