Getting people to pay attention and persuading them to act can be as simple as striking the right "I-you" ratio, says nationally acclaimed public-speaking trainer Patricia Fripp.

Addressing the Fall 2009 IAMC Professional Forum Leadership Seminar in Minneapolis on Sept. 20, Fripp told attendees that the key to effective and persuasive speech is to keep the focus of the presentation on the needs of the listener.

Patricia Fripp

For every time the speaker uses the word "I," the word "you" should be mentioned at least five times, says Fripp, the first female president of the National Speakers Association and a member of the NSA Hall of Fame.

"You should always say, 'You will learn' versus 'I will talk about ...,'" says Fripp, who was the highest-rated Leadership Seminar speaker in IAMC history, scoring a record 9.67 rating on a 10-point scale.

"You must appeal to your listeners' rational self-interest, and you must always remember that people make decisions for their reasons, not yours," she said. "Logic makes you think; emotion makes you act."

In her three-hour talk titled “Advanced Leadership Presentation Skills,” Fripp outlined the most important ingredients of a successful speech:

• Always keep the emphasis on the needs of the audience.
• Never use PowerPoint to write your presentation.
• Use personal stories to make a connection with the listener.
• Keep the tone of the speech conversational.
• Take command of the room.
• Make positive eye contact strategically around the room.
• Always use a strong opening, and then at the end tie your strong close back to that opening line.

"There is nothing more dramatic than telling a story to make people remember what you want them to remember," said Fripp. "Make it personal and make it conversational. Make eye contact with someone at every table one at a time. This will help you speak to be remembered and repeated."

One common mistake presenters make is that they think they must fill every second with noise. "Never be afraid of silence," Fripp said. "Don't fill gaps with words like 'er,' 'um,' 'ah,' and other such nonsense. Listeners digest and reflect on what they’ve learned during the silences."

A second common mistake is to start by giving out your own name. "Never start with your name first," she said. "Always begin with the most important thing you have to say &ndash the one thing that will benefit the audience more than any other. Always script your opening statement, if you do nothing else."

When making a presentation to senior management, she said, "it's always good to start with your conclusion. Then stand still. Don't wander aimlessly. Make eye contact with everyone in the room – one at a time. Remember that everyone is more interested in themselves than you."

To persuade someone to act, "you must appeal to their rational self-interest," Fripp said. "A confused mind always says 'no.'"

Fripp noted that every effective presentation is built around a single, strong premise, "a basis of argument leading to a conclusion." Generally, she said, each main point should be illustrated by three concrete examples. "If you are using PowerPoint to illustrate your speech, boil down every slide to the essential points only."

Finally, she said, posture makes a big impression. "How you stand represents the stability of your ideas and your company. Don't have nervous feet. Stand with your feet even with your hips. Remember – leadership is not what you say you believe; it is what you model, encourage, reward and let happen."