Great Presentations: The Inside Secrets with Patricia Fripp

0:01Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation! JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, the only daily show interviewing the world's top entrepreneurs seven days a week. Today, we'll be breaking down great presentations, the inside secrets. To drop these value bombs, I brought to Patricia Fripp in the EO Fire Studios. Patricia is a Hall of Fame speaker and in-demand speech coach for executives, entrepreneurs, and speakers, co-author of Deliver Unforgettable Presentations, and known as the Speaker's Speaker. And today, we'll talk about the number one secret to a great speech, the type of stories entrepreneurs and experts need to perfect, starting a presentation, what to do, and oh, so much more.

0:39And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Patricia and our sponsors. These days, your business needs total visibility from global shipments to tariff impacts to real-time cashflow. That's NetSuite by Oracle, your AI-powered business management suite trusted by over 41 ,000 businesses. Download the free ebook, Navigating Global Trade, Three Insights for Leaders at netsuite.com slash fire. Fire Nation, this is your year to get unstuck and to grow a successful business. Attend the world's highest rated business growth workshop taught personally by Clay Clark and now featuring football star Tim Tebow and President Trump's son, Eric Trump at thrivetimeshow.com slash EO fire.

1:19Again, request life-changing tickets today at thrivetimeshow.com slash EO fire. Patricia, say what's up to fire nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with? I don't know if they disagree. However, I firmly believe you don't have to be the best. You don't have to be the smartest. You just have to get up early and work through lunch. I love that. I'm an early riser. I have a 75 pound golden doodle named Gus. He needs workouts. He needs exercise. I have a 5.30 a.m. wake up. I'm out on the road with him for three miles that gets me going Fire Nation.

1:58And I always say, I've gotten more done before lunch than most people do all day. And that's just my goal. Like, that's what I want to do. You know, I mean, especially with a growing family, you need to prioritize what you're doing and when you're doing it. And today we're talking about great presentations, the inside secrets. And listen, Patricia, a great speech, it's harder and harder to come by, but it's even harder to accomplish. So what's the number one secret of a great speech? The number one secret of a great speech is to realize your audience is a lot more interested in themselves than they are in you.

2:37This means we have to look at our message from our audience's point of view. And one simple way to show the audience you are interested in them is to use you-focused language. Never say, I'm going to talk about what I'd like to talk about first. Nobody cares. It is always about in the next 45 minutes, you will learn or hear or better understand. Even when you are telling a story from your own experience, bring the audience in with phrases such as, I wish you could have been there. Imagine how I felt when, or let's go back to January, 2020. You are transporting your audience to a different time and place.

3:33You are taking them with you. Man, I love all of that. I was actually at that moment being like, what was I doing? on January 12, 2020. What was going on in my life back then? And it's so crazy how you do transport yourself back there. And I love that how you just change the whole concept and the entire direction of your talk to the audience. You know, everybody's favorite radio station is WIIFM. What's in it for me? That's what people care about. They care about what's in it. And that will never change. That will never change. So you always think, and as you go through, and this is true with a podcast, with a conversation and a speech, is we always have to ask ourselves, why would our audience care?

4:18Why would our audience care about what I'm saying, what I'm writing, the questions I'm asking? Well, the audience is going to care about this next question because I can tell you a lot of people who have dreams and aspirations of doing a presentation or improving themselves on a current presentation is the beginning. They freak out. That walking on stage, you know, you're going to start with a bang. So starting a presentation is what freaks people out. So what are some of the best and often overlooked ways to start a presentation? My friend, Michael Haig, who's a story consultant for Hollywood, who you need interview if you never have, he always says, get into the scene late.

4:59And so many people, as you have noticed and heard, John, is that people waffle around and by the time they get to the story, it loses its impact. So you grab the audience, you might walk out and say, let's pick up on our last idea about you focused language. I work with a lot of engineers and really smart Silicon Valley execs. And I always say, well, do you have an interesting statistic or little known fact that is buried within your presentation, let's pull it up to the beginning and then say, would it interest you to know that? Would it surprise you to know that? Would it shock you to know that?

5:46So you're adding an emotion to your interesting statistic. So you could open with an interesting statistic or little known fact. You can open, of course, with a story, which is a good crowd pleaser. And again, you can get straight to the point. It was January, but if possible, bring the audience. Imagine how I felt. And then there is also, you might use a quote. A lot of people quote, brilliant dead white men. And I am not saying dead white men and dead black women have made wonderful comments. However, if they are famous and your audience is familiar with their quote, you can use it later in the presentation if it reinforces your message, but not at the beginning, because the opening of your presentation is like the opening of a movie.

6:49it's the flavor scene and we never want our audience to think oh i've heard that because the second thought is there's nothing new in this presentation so if you're going to quote somebody quote somebody from your life that made a brilliant statement but the audience has never heard of. For example, the first day I went to work as my father pushed me out the door, he said, Patricia, in your career, don't focus on making a lot of money. Rather, focus on becoming the type of person that people want to do business with. Then you most likely will make a lot of money. Now, that's a great quote from my dad that unless you heard me say it, you're not familiar.

7:43and it would apply to everybody, no matter what their business. Fire Nation, value bombs being dropped by Patricia. I hope you're taking notes. I hope you're rewinding and really absorbing these words that she's sharing. And Patricia, you believe that entrepreneurs need to perfect specific types of stories. What are they? Could be your origin story of how your company began. There is also, and what I teach all my sales teams, is the happy client story. And stories, John, have to be true. However, they do not have to be 100 % accurate because stories shrink time. You might have a couple of minutes to tell a story.

8:34Well, that means you can't add all the details. So I say to all entrepreneurs, when you're having a conversation or a sales presentation or giving any type of presentation, I recommend all entrepreneurs give free speeches to local service clubs is the great greatest PR. And that's how I began. Anyway, I say to sales team, now take a happy, satisfied clients. And you probably have the reference on your website. and imagine your client, your prospect in front of you is saying, well, can you give me an example? You might say, you remind, Patricia, you remind me of our client, Diane. And when I first spoke to her, she said, help.

9:33Now, I know they didn't say help, But imagine they sell help and then clearly articulated their problem. So it could be I'm spending a fortune on advertising and not getting any calls. Or we have the best technology. However, our competition is eating our lunch because their sales presentations are better than ours. So what would be the help? Or we only want to attract the top 10 percent of available talent. And we do, but they don't stay more than six months. What can I do to retain our valued workforce? So imagine when you're telling the story and you want a story that matches your prospect's situation.

10:33So you need an arsenal of stories that match all the different people that you could sell to. So it's imagine they said help, clearly articulated the problem, and you always deliver it in the client's words. And you might want your client to give their backstory. So, for example, John, we haven't had the pleasure of meeting, but I am the senior vice president of such and such. And I heard you are the only person who can help me do this. So immediately we know the backstory of the client. So we feel a connection because it's similar to ours and we know the problem. So that's the situation. the solution you always say in your own words.

11:23So what we did for Fred was our three-step process that we would recommend for you. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. And then you say, and if he were here, he would tell you. I would not have believed it possible that. So it's the situation, solution, success. you shrink what might have been a four months process before you actually spoke to the prospect who is now the happy client and you follow the formula and the situation is always in their words and the success is always in your now happy client's words because when you are using the words of somebody else you can say about yourself what you wouldn't say fire nation so many value bombs being dropped by Patricia here.

12:17And if you think she's even close to done, you've got another thing coming. As soon as we get back from our sponsors, we have a lot to talk about around this topic. So stick around. Fire Nation, this is your year to get unstuck and to grow a successful business. Are you looking to learn the proven processes and success systems that have been used to create thousands of millionaire success stories? See thousands of success stories and testimonials from real people just like you who Clay Clark has mentored and coached into prosperity at thrivetimeshow.com slash eofire. Clay's proven business coaching program is month to month and costs less money than hiring a minimum wage employee.

12:52Yes, it's month to month and costs less money than hiring a minimum wage employee. Schedule your free personal 13-point assessment with Clay Clark himself today at thrivetimeshow.com slash eofire. Because Clay only takes on 160 clients and only allows 300 attendees to each business conference, you will interact with Clay directly. See thousands of real success stories and learn about attending the Thrive Time Show two-day in-person workshop featuring football star Tim Tebow and President Trump's son, Eric Trump, today at thrivetimeshow.com slash EOFire. Become the next success story. Schedule a free consultation and request tickets to join football star Tim Tebow and President Trump's son, Eric Trump, at Clay Clark's next business conference today at thrivetimeshow.com slash EOFire.

13:34I think we can all agree that it's an interesting time for business. Tariff and trade policies are shifting, which affects supply chains, cashflow, and more. And if your business can't adapt in real time, that's a big concern. You need total visibility from global shipments to tariff impacts to real-time cashflow. And for that, there's NetSuite by Oracle, your AI-powered business management suite trusted by over 41 ,000 businesses. NetSuite is the number one cloud ERP bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR into one suite, giving you one source of truth and the visibility and control to make quick decisions with real-time forecasting, you're peering into the future, allowing you to know what's stuck, what it's costing you, and how to pivot fast.

14:12And with AI tools, you can automate everyday tasks, allowing your teams to stay strategic. If our business needed this type of software, I'd use NetSuite in a heartbeat. It's one system, full control, tame the chaos with NetSuite. If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, download the free ebook, Navigating Global Trade, Three Insights for Leaders at netsuite.com slash fire. That's netsuite.com slash fire. Patricia, we're back, and you believe that specificity builds credibility. What do you mean by that? I am on a crusade and I feel I am failing miserably. I cannot understand why brilliant, well-educated, successful people use such sloppy language.

15:00For example, and I say this to my executives, you never kind of or sort of your way to success. It's be clear and concise. And when it comes to specificity, my number one question of all my clients, and when I'm delivering seminars, one of my number one points, and that is it is never a thing. If it weren't a thing, what would it be? I was coaching a brilliant engineer who's going to speak at the large user conference. And part of his presentation, he said, there are two things people love about. I said, if they weren't things, what would they be? He said, innovative upgrades. I said, there are billions of people in the world who loves your innovative upgrades.

15:57He said, systems administrators. I said, who's in your audience? He said 90 % systems administrators. Can you see the difference between there are two things people love about and there are two innovative upgrades that systems administrators love? And I got this idea sitting at the back of one of my coaching schools with a fellow coach. And people kept getting up. Well, there are five things to be successful. There's three things to do this. And I sat down and in about three minutes came up with 39 suggestions they could use instead of thing. So is it a technique, an idea, a suggestion, a formula, a discipline, a habit?

16:47What is it? It's never a thing. That's the first. So the frippy rule is it's never a thing. Second, if you can't weigh it, it's not a ton. Or you can't say, oh, I just went to this NSA conference and got tons of ideas. No, you didn't weigh them. Did you get three pages of notes and six actionable ideas? That's specific. And if it's not fruits or vegetables, it's not a bunch. Oh, I met a bunch of interesting people. No, you didn't. I went to a networking event. There were 50 people. I had great conversations with 15 and there are three I'm following up and making a lunch date with. That's specific.

17:37Specificity builds your credibility. You do not have to have a PhD or an MBA to sound credible, intelligent, and articulate. you just have to use specific words in another great example i had a client and i was explaining there is a limit to how many people i can have on the feet and coach him one day how it's unlimited how many people can listen to the information and watch me coach the others which is very education she said that is a great idea because greg just hired a boatload of new people i said michelle is it a dinghy or an ocean liner because we use words to communicate however people often see in pictures and so how big is the boat and then I said to her well how many people did Greg hire she said four now I said Shelly why don't you just say great idea sorry Michelle great idea Greg just hired four people that's specific now there's one more the one more example this is the quality of the words I was coaching a lawyer on a speech for modern day slavery.

19:16And part of her presentation, in one line she said, he promised her many things. I said, no, he didn't. He promised her a life of romance and adventure. and in the context of the story those two words give you so much more information than the time it takes to say them that you realize why this young woman would leave the safety of her home and go off with this man and we've seen enough law and orders to know this does not have a happy end but you can see the quality of the words. Fire Nation, powerful words coming at you from Patricia all day long here. And what would you say would be the one key takeaway that you would want our listeners to walk away with from this conversation today?

20:23Everybody can improve their presentations. So one, you have to focus your attention on it. if you listen to a presentation you record a rehearsal of a sales presentation you record a team meeting you're running it doesn't matter listen as if that were someone else and find what are your triggers what are your bad habits and I promise thing is one of them and people will not criticize you if you don't give them permission you say to your colleagues you say to your spouse I need your help. I just heard this great podcast and the idea that I have to be more specific. Every time I say thing, would you just say, if it weren't a thing, what would it be?

21:15And then they might want to go over to FRIP.com, my website, and just click on free resources. And there are a lot of information. And that particular idea is in a special report, fat and skinny words. And Fire Nation, that is Fripp.com. That's F-R-I-P-P.com. Click on that resources tab and you know this, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. You've been hanging out with PF and JLD today, so keep up that heat. And for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com, type Patricia in the search bar, and the show notes page will pop right up as well as the episode that we did back in May of 2015, 10 years ago.

22:00Man, I'm going to go back and listen to that again for sure. And Patricia, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. You bet. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Patricia for sponsoring today's episode. And Fire Nation, are you ready to rock your very own podcast? Check out our free podcasting course where I will teach you how to create and launch your podcast for free, freepodcastcourse.com. I'll catch you there or on the flip side. These days, your business needs total visibility from global shipments to tariff impacts to real-time cash flow.

22:37That's NetSuite by Oracle, your AI-powered business management suite trusted by over 41 ,000 businesses. Download the free ebook, Navigating Global Trade, Three Insights for Leaders at netsuite.com slash fire. Fire Nation, this is your year to get unstuck and to grow a successful business. Attend the world's highest rated business growth workshop taught personally by Clay Clark and now featuring football star Tim Tebow and President Trump's son, Eric Trump at Thrivetimeshow.com slash EO Fire. Again, request life-changing tickets today at Thrivetimeshow.com slash EO Fire.