Twenty years ago, when my personal coach asked if I scripted my presentations, I balked at the idea. I told him that I did not want to sound robotic when talking with people. He asked me what my two favorite movies were and I named The Godfather and Braveheart. He then asked me if what they said and did in the movie was scripted. And I replied “Of course.” He went on. “Did the actors sound robotic to you?” I said they sounded very natural and sincere to me. “That’s because they rehearsed their lines (scripts) over and over until it became as natural as a conversation with a friend.” And THAT was the ‘AHA’ moment for me! From that day until today, I script my talks for a greater impact on my audiences. It’s so easy to do and much more effective.
Scripting and rehearsing presentations for greater impact is a common practice for the best salespeople, actors and politicians. In fact, when do politicians get into the most trouble? When they ‘wing-it’ and reply to a question or comment without thinking of the best words to use. Scripting the most effective words to use and even which words should be emphasized is a common practice on television news. Some of the best salespeople I know have a script book with scripts that answer any questions their clients or prospects might ask. It’s a terrific resource that has solid answers to the most common or difficult questions. When you have scripts to use, your confidence is sky high when you are asked to explain any concepts or products in your business. Others just bumble their way through, trying to explain but leaving the listener with a big question mark in their mind.
Write scripts for the most common questions you get from your clients, prospects, employees, co-workers or even your kids. You’ll see how much more articulate you are and you’ll be much more aware of all of those who ‘wing-it’ in conversations. This will be one of the best practice tools you’ll use from now on. You’ll be much more effective in all your conversations!
All the Best! Feel welcome to share your success story after you try this.
Neil