The Right Signature Speech Can (and Should) Open Closed Doors

Aloha Reader,

Over the past two weeks, we’ve talked about why your book should begin a bigger conversation and how a signature speech can help your ideas travel beyond the page.

But once authors decide to create that speech, many make the same mistake:

They deliver a book report.

They walk the audience through every chapter, introduce a complete framework, and squeeze in as many stories and lessons as the time limit allows.

I understand the instinct. You spent months or years developing the ideas for your book and choosing what to leave out can feel impossible!

So let me help you narrow it down.

Choose one idea worth remembering

When I help folks write a speech, one of the most important questions I ask is:

What do you want the audience to remember tomorrow?

I don’t want to know everything they could learn from you. That’s likely A LOT! I’m looking for a single idea they could easily repeat to someone else after they leave the room.

A strong signature speech has one central idea holding everything together. Your stories, examples, and practical advice should all help the audience understand, feel, or act on that ONE idea.

Your book might teach five principles of leadership, but your speech could focus on the one leaders most often overlook. Your book might document an entire transformation, but your speech could center on the inciting incident that sparked the change in the first place.

The goal is to give the audience something meaningful enough that they want to continue the conversation with you in other ways (by reading your book, following you on social media, or even working with you).

Give them an idea, a story, and a next step

To begin shaping your speech, consider coming up with these three simple building blocks:

• The one idea that helps the audience see something differently. Offer a clear insight or framework they can understand and remember.
• A story that makes the audience feel something. Share a moment, decision, failure, or discovery that brings the one idea to life.
• A next step the audience can take. Give them one question, practice, or action that will help them apply the idea in their own life.

You can eventually add research, supporting points, jokes, and audience interaction. But if you identify these three elements first, you have the beginning of a focused signature speech that will resonate way more than a book report!

Let your speech open the door. Your book and the rest of your body of work will be waiting for anyone who wants to walk further inside.

Beth Berger

CTO, Acquisitions Editor, Speaking Coach & Author Brand Strategist