speech about marketing

TPG Social Media

An inspirational speech on building brands and marketing.

Below is an Inspirational Speech on marketing sent to me by our good friend Bob Liljenwall, Professor of Branding at UCLA. 

An inspirational speech — Think Strawberries

James Lavenson, former president of the world-famous Plaza Hotel in New York

Here is a very important speech I would like you to read. You’ll learn about what is really core to a good brand…

AND YOU THINK STRAWBERRIES WERE FOR EATING…

Footnote: The following are excerpts from a speech first delivered as the keynote of the AMERICAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION annual meeting in New York City in 1973. It was published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1974, October issue. It is considered one of the best speeches on business ever. Robert Liljenwall

James Lavenson owned a marketing and advertising company before being invited to become a senior management executive with Sonesta International Hotels. As part of the senior management team of the Sonesta Hotel chain, he was finally given responsibility for the company’s hotel and food interests and some non hospitality businesses, including the famous Mad Magazine and Hartman Luggage. For the last three years of that period he was president and chief executive officer of the chain’s ‘flagship’, the famous Plaza Hotel in New York City. Unprofitable in the year before his assumption of the hotel’s direction, the Plaza was profitable each year of Lavenson’s tenure until it was sold in February 1975 to Western International Hotels. The Speech: “Across the street from the Plaza Hotel in New York is a movie theatre, and they were lucky enough to be one of the early ones to get the movie, ‘Jaws’, I don’t know if that happened in Chicago, but in New York, it was a complete sell out. I wanted to get to see it. I bought a ticket and went in, and I couldn’t find an empty seat. As a matter of fact, the only thing I did see was one man lying prostrate across five seats. So I went and got the usher and said, ‘You get that guy to sit up so I can sit down’. So the usher went down and rapped the man on the feet and said ‘Sir, would you mind sitting up so that this man can sit down?’ And the most terrible groan came out of this prostate — prostate? — no, prostrate figure. He just went ‘Ohhhh.’ And they couldn’t get him to move, he just groaned. So finally they got the manager, and the manager came down — shone a flashlight in the man’s face and said, ‘Sit up. You are occupying five seats. You only paid for one, and this man wants to sit down.’ The man went, ‘Ohhhhhh.’ The manager leaned close to his face and said, ‘Sir, how did you get here? Where did you come from?’ And he said (in a hoarse voice), ‘The balcony’. Well, that explains how I got in the hotel business, because for ten years I was a corporate director and marketing consultant for Sonesta International Hotels, and I had my office in a little building next door to the hotel, and I went there every day for lunch, and I often stayed overnight, and I became in ten years a professional guest. I’m sure those hotel men in the audience know that there is no one who knows more about how to run a hotel than a guest. But about five years ago, I fell out of this corporate balcony and had to put my efforts in the restaurants where my mouth had been and into the guest rooms, and night clubs and theatre, into which I had been putting my two cents.

In my ten years of kibitzing about the way things were run at the Plaza, the only really technical skills that I had developed was removing that little strip of paper without tearing it that says, ‘Sanitised for your protection’. When the Plaza Hotel staff learned that I had spent my life as a salesman; that I was not a hotel figure; that I had never been to a hotel school — I wasn’t even the son of a waiter — they went into shock.

Paul Sonnebaum who was then president of Sonesta Hotels, didn’t help their apprehensions much when he introduced me to my staff with the following explanation: ‘The Plaza has been losing money for the past five years and we have had the best management in the business. So we have decided to try the worst’. I don’t know if you have ever heard the definition of the kind of hotel managers there are. If you have ever observed a manager close at hand, you will know there is one who walks through the lobby spotting cigarette butts, and the first time doesn’t see them. The second kind of manager walks through, sees the cigarette butts and calls the porter and asks him to pick them up. And then there’s the third kind of hotel manager who walks through the lobby, sees a cigarette butt on the carpet and picks it up.

I am the fourth kind. I walk through the lobby and I see a cigarette butt on the carpet, and I pick it up myself, and I smoke it. Well, that was actually all I knew anything about when I became president, and I didn’t really know how to start on the job, so I just began wandering around the hotel looking for cigarette butts. One day early in my career there I got a little idea what I was up against with professional staff when, in walking through the lobby, I heard the phone ring at the bell captain’s desk, and no one was answering it. So to give a demonstration to my staff that there was no job too demeaning for me I went over and I picked up the phone and said, ‘Bell captain’s desk. May I help you ?’ The voice came on the other end. ‘Pass it on, Lavenson’s in the Lobby.’ Now frankly I think that the hotel business is one of the most backward in the world. It’s an antique. There has been practically no change in the attitude of room clerks at hotels since Joseph and Mary arrived at that inn in Bethlehem and that clerk told them that he’d lost their reservation. One of the executives in a new organization read a speech I gave about a year after I had been at the Plaza and the speech was called, ‘Think Strawberries’. Maybe, he thought it was some magic formula for buying strawberries out of season. Some of you may have seen it since the Saturday Evening Post reproduced it in their October issue. And if you did read it, you know it wasn’t about buying strawberries, or even growing strawberries. The speech was about selling strawberries. At the Plaza Hotel, ‘Think Strawberries’ has become the code words for salesmanship. Actually, a team approach to what I consider to be the most exciting profession in the world — selling But hotel salesmanship is salesmanship at its worst. So it is with full knowledge that I was taking the risk of inducing cardiac arrest on the hotel guests if they heard one of our staff say a shocking thing like ‘Good morning, Sir or ‘Please’ or ‘Thank you for coming’ or ‘Please come back’ — I decided to try to turn the 1400 Plaza employees into genuine hosts and hostesses who, after all, had invited guests to our house. Secretly, I knew I didn’t mean hosts and hostesses; I meant sales-people. But before the staff was able to recognize my voice over the phone, a few calls to the various departments in the hotel showed me how far I had to go. ‘What’s the difference between your $85 suite and your $125 suite?’ I asked the reservationist over the telephone. The answer — you guessed it. ‘Forty dollars.’ ‘What’s the entertainment in your Persian Room tonight?’ I asked the bell captain. ‘Some singer’ was his answer. ‘A man, or a woman?’, I wanted to know. ‘I’m not sure, ‘ he said. It made me wonder if I’d even be safe going there. Why was it, I thought, that a staff of a hotel doesn’t act like a family of hosts to the guests who have been invited, after all, to stay at their house? And it didn’t take long after becoming a member of that family myself to find out one of the basic problems. Our 1400 family members didn’t even know each other. With a large staff working over 18 floors, a thousand guest rooms, six restaurants, a nightclub, a theatre, three levels of sub-basement including the kitchen, a carpentry shop, a plumbing shop, an electrical shop, and a full commercial laundry, how would they ever know all the people working there — who were the guests? — who was just a burglar smiling his way through the hotel while he ripped us off? I can assure you that in the beginning if he smiled and said ‘Hello’, he was a crook. He certainly wasn’t one of us. Even the old time Plaza employees who might recognize a face after a couple of years would have no idea of the name connected to that face. It struck me, that if our people who worked with each other every day couldn’t call each other by name, smile at each other’s familiar face, say good morning to each other, how on earth could they be expected to say astonishing things like ‘Good morning, Mr. Jones’ to a guest? A short time after my arrival there, the prestigious Plaza staff was subjected to uncouth blasphemy. The Plaza nametag was born, and it became part of the staffs uniform. And the first name tag appeared on my own lapel, on the lapel of God Himself. And it’s been on the lapel of every other staff member ever since. Every one — every one, from dishwasher to general manager at the Plaza Hotel, wears his name in large letters where every other employee, and of course, every guest, can see it. Believe it or not, Plaza people began saying hello to each other by name when they passed in the hall, or in the offices. At first, of course, our regular guests at the Plaza thought we had lost our cool and we were taking some kind of gigantic convention there. But now the guests are also able to call the bellmen, and the maids, and the room clerks, and the manager, by name. And we began to build an atmosphere of welcome with the most precious commodity in the world — our names — and our guests’ names. A number of years ago I met a man named Dr Earnest Dikter. Maybe you know him. He was the head of a thing called the Institute for Motivational Research. And he loved to talk about service in the restaurants, and the lack of it. He had a theory that I just think is nuts. Dikter believed that when you go into a fine restaurant, you are hungrier for recognition than you are for food. Now just think about that. It’s true. If a maitre d’ says to me, ‘I have your table ready, Mr. Lavenson’, I positively float over to my chair. And after a greeting like that, the chef can burn my rare steak for all I care. When someone calls you by name, and you don’t know his or hers, another funny thing happens. A feeling of discomfort comes over you. If he calls you by your name twice, and you know you’re not world famous, you have to find out his name. And this phenomenon we saw happening with the Plaza staff nametags. When a guest calls a waiter by name — because it’s there to be read — the waiter wants to call the guest by name. Hopefully it will drive the waiter nuts if he doesn’t find out the guest’s name. The waiter will ask the maitre d’. And if the maitre d’ doesn’t know, he can see if they know at the front desk. Why this urgent sense of mission? What makes calling a guest by name so important? I am now about to tell you a secret which is known only in the hotel industry. The secret is calling a guest by name — it is a big payoff — it is called, and you can write this down if you want, a tip. At first there was resistance, particularly on the part of the executive staff to wearing nametags. I was suspected of being what the old-time hotel managers liked, being incognito when wandering around the hotel. It avoids hearing complaints and, of course, if you don’t hear complaints, there are none. Right? Don’t ever — ever — walk up to a guest and ask, ‘Is everything all right?’ In the first place, he may die of shock before he answers. We only had one staff member at the Plaza, only one out of 1400, who refused to wear a nametag. Not only was it beneath his dignity, but for 16 years he had always worn a little rosebud in his lapel. That was his trademark, he said, and everyone knew him by it. And he said he would resign before he would wear a nametag. His resignation was accepted along with that of the rosebud. And just between you and me, there were times when I regretted wearing a nametag myself, especially on a Plaza elevator where guests can become a little impatient. You see, the Plaza elevators were built at the same time as the hotel, 1907, and they are hydraulic. They are not electric. And a trip on a Plaza elevator is roughly the equivalent of a commute from Earth to the Moon. With my nametag on my lapel, all passengers held me personally responsible just as they do the pilot of a plane in a two-hour holding pattern over the airport. I soon learned I couldn’t hide, so I took the offensive, and feeling like a perfect idiot I smiled at everybody and said, ‘Good Morning’ to complete strangers, and this was in New York. Those guests who didn’t go into shock smiled back. One man, with whom I had ridden all the way to the 18th floor, really caught the spirit. He answered my ‘Good morning’, when we got on in the lobby, with a smiling ‘Good afternoon ‘ when we reached the top floor. About 500, almost a third of the staff of the Plaza, are Hispanic. I don’t know if you know what that means in Chicago. That means they speak Spanish. That means they understand Spanish. It also means that they don’t understand English, and they don’t read English. But all our communications to the employees were in English. The employee house magazine, with all those profound management messages, and my picture, were in English. It seems to me that to say we had a language barrier at the Plaza would be an understatement. Before we could talk about strawberries, we first had to learn Spanish and put our house magazine in both English and Spanish. We started lessons in Spanish for our supervisors, and lessons in English for the staff. It was interesting to me to note that the staff learned English faster than our supervisors learned Spanish. With 1400 staff members all labeled with their name tags, and understanding why in both Spanish and English, with all of them saying ‘Good morning’, and smiling at each other, we were ready to make salespeople out of them.

There was just one more obstacle we had to overcome before we suggested that they start selling: asking for the order. They had no idea what the product was that they were supposed to be selling. Not only didn’t they know who was playing in the Persian Room and they didn’t know that the Plaza had movies, full-length feature films without commercials, on closed circuit TV in the guest rooms. As a matter of fact, most of them didn’t know what a Plaza room looked like unless they happened to be a maid, or a bellman that checked in guests. The reason that registration thought that $40 was the difference between the two suites was because he had never been in one. Of product knowledge, our future salespeople had none, and we had our work cut out for us. Today, if you ask a Plaza bellman who is playing in the Persian Room, he will tell you, Jack Jones. He will tell you it’s Jack Jones because he has seen Jack Jones and heard Jack Jones, because in the contract of every performer there is a clause requiring that performer to first play to the staff in the Employees’ Cafeteria, so that all the staff can see him, hear him and meet him. The Plaza staff now sees the star first, before the guests. And if you ask a room clerk or a telephone operator what is on TV closed circuit movie in the guest rooms, they will tell you because they have seen the movies on the TV sets which run the movie continuously in the Staff Cafeteria. Today, all the room clerks go through a week of orientation, which includes spending a night with their husband, or their wife, or (laughter) — just like a guest. They stay in a room in the Plaza. The orientation week includes a week of touring all the guest rooms, a meal in the restaurants, and the reservation room clerk gets a chance to actually look out the window of the suite and see the difference between an $85 and a $125 suite, because the $125 suite overlooks beautiful Central Park, and the $85 suite looks up the fanny of the A-Bomb building. The Plaza had a sales staff of three men, professionals. They were so professional that they never left the hotel. They were good men, but they were really sales servicemen who took orders that came over the transom. Nobody at the Plaza ever left the palace, crossed the moat at Fifth Avenue, and went looking for business. No one was knocking on doors. No one was asking for the order. The Plaza, as you may know, is a dignified institution. It was so dignified that it was considered demeaning to admit that we needed the business, no matter how much money we were losing. And if you didn’t ask us, we wouldn’t ask you. So there! We weren’t ringing our doorbell or anybody else’s. You had to ring ours. And this attitude seemed to be a philosophy shared by the entire organization, a potentially large sales staff of waiters, room clerks, bellmen, cashiers, doormen, maids, about 600 guest-contact employees. If you wanted a second drink in the Plaza’s famous Oak Bar, you got it with a simple technique — tripping the waiter, and then pinning him to the floor. You had to ask him. You’d think, wouldn’t you, that it would be easy to change that pattern of Oak Room waiters. After all, they make additional tips on additional drinks. Simple sales training. Right? Right? I had our general manager for the Oak Room — the maitre d’ — learn my new policy. It was inspirational. When the guest’s glass is down to one-third full, the waiter is to come up to the table and ask the guest if he’d like a second drink. Complicated, but workable. Couldn’t miss, I thought. About a month after establishing this revolutionary policy I joined the general manager in Oak Bar for a drink. I noticed at the next table there were four men all with empty glasses. No waiter was near them. After watching for fifteen minutes my ulcer gave out and I asked the general manager what happened to my second-drink program? And the manager called over the maitre d’ and asked what happened to the second-drink program. And the maitre d’ called over to the captain, pointed out the other table and said, ‘Whatever happened to Lavenson’s second drink program?’ And the captain called over the waiter, and he broke out into a wreath of smiles as he explained that the men at the next table had already had their second drink. If you asked for a room reservation at the Plaza it was very simple. You were quoted the minimum rate. If you wanted a suite, you had to ask for it. If once there you wanted to stay at the hotel an extra night, it was simple — beg. You were never invited, and sometimes I think there’s simple pact among hotel men, it’s actually a secret oath that you swear to when you graduate from hotel school, and it goes like this: ‘I promise I will never ask for the order.’ When you are faced with as old and ingrained a tradition as that, halfway counter measures don’t work. So we started a program of all our guest contact people, along with all of our salespeople, using a new secret oath — everybody sells. And we meant everybody — maids, cashiers, waiters, bellmen, assistant manager, general manager, and me — everybody! We talked to the maids about suggesting room service, to the doormen about suggesting our restaurants, not the one at the Pierre, to our cashiers about suggesting return reservations to the parting guests. And we talked to the waiters about strawberries. Now I don’t know how it is in Chicago, but in New York the waiter at the Plaza makes anywhere from $12,000 to $20,000 a year. The difference between those figures, of course, is tips. I spent 18 years in the advertising agency business, and I thought I was fast computing 15 per cent. I am a moron compared to a waiter. Our suggestion for selling strawberries fell on very responsive ears when we described that part of our Everybody Sells Program to the waiters in our Oyster Bar Restaurant. We had a smart controller, and he figured out that if — with just the same number of customers already patronizing the Oyster Bar — the waiters would ask every customer if he’d like the second drink, wine or beer, with his meal, and then dessert — given only one out of four takers — we would increase the Oyster Bar Restaurant sales by $364,000 a year. The waiters were well ahead of this lecture. They had already figured out that was $50,000 more in tips, and since there are 10 waiters in the Oyster Bar, I, with the aid of a pocket calculator, could figure out that that meant five grand more in tips per waiter. And it was at this point that I had my toughest decision to make since I’d been in the job, which was whether to stay on as president, or become a waiter in the Oyster Bar. But while the waiters appreciated this automatic raise in theory, they were very quick to point out the negative: ‘Nobody eats dessert any more, ‘ they said, ‘everybody is on a diet. If we served our specially, the Plaza chocolate cheesecake to everybody in the restaurant, we’d be out of business because they’d all be dead in a week.’ ‘So sell them strawberries,’ we said, ‘but sell them!’ Then we wheeled out our answer to the gasoline shortage. It is called a dessert cart. It has wheels. And we widened the aisles between the tables so that the waiters could wheel the cart right up to each table at dessert time without being asked. And not daunted by the diet protestations of the average guest, the waiter goes into raptures about the bowl of fresh strawberries on the top of the cart. There is even a bowl of whipped cream for the slightly wicked. And by the time the waiter finishes extolling the virtues of luscious strawberries, flown in that morning from California or Florida — or wherever he thinks strawberries come from — you, the guest, not only have an abdominal orgasm, but one out of two of you orders them. We showed the waiters every week what happened with strawberry sales. The month I left the Plaza they doubled again, and so had the sales, incidentally, of second martinis. And believe me, when you have a customer for a second martini, you have a sitting duck for a strawberry sale, and that is with whipped cream. The Plaza waiters now ask for the order. They no longer stare at your waistline and say, ‘You don’t look like you need dessert’.

‘Think Strawberries’ is becoming the Plaza’s sales password. The reservationist thinks strawberries and suggests that perhaps you would like a suite overlooking Central Park rather than a twin-bedded room. Bellmen are thinking strawberries. Each bellman has return reservation forms with his own name imprinted on them as the addressee, and he asks you, in checking you out and into your cab, can he make a return reservation for you? The room service operators were thinking strawberries. They ask you if you’d like to watch the closed circuit TV film in your room as long as you’re going to be there. No trouble, ‘We put three bucks on your bill and you never notice it compared with the price of the sandwich’. Our telephone operators think strawberries. When you leave a wake up call, they suggest a Flying Tray Breakfast sent up to your room. ‘You want the light breakfast, no — ham and eggs; how about strawberries?’ We figured we added about 400 salesmen to the three-man sales staff we had before. Additional salesmen, at no extra expense, didn’t exactly thrill my Board of Directors. But I will tell you what did tickle their fancy. The Plaza sales volume my last year there went from $27 million to a nice round $30 million. And our controller was seen giggling in his cage where we kept him, since our profits were double the year before. I’ll tell you what pleased me most. The Plaza sold $250,000 worth of strawberries in the last six months alone – $250,000 worth of strawberries! We created the Order of the Strawberry Patch. It’s a little strawberry insignia worn on the employee’s name tag, and any staff member, except those, naturally, in the Sale Department, who gives the sales manager at the Plaza a lead, just a lead, for rooms, or banquet business, gets to wear the little strawberry patch. He has joined the sales staff. And if that lead is converted into a sale, a savings bond is given to the person who suggested it. Let me tell you what happened with that strawberry patch program. There’s a captain in the Oak Room — his name is Curt, and he likes savings bonds. He also has a wild imagination, and he imagined that if a Plaza salesman would call on his wife’s friend’s daughter, who was getting married, the wedding could be booked at the Plaza. Obviously he was insane — the Oak Room captain’s wife’s friend’s daughter, who lived in Brooklyn, with a wedding at the famous Plaza. The Plaza salesman was persuaded to call the lady in Brooklyn. At first he didn’t want to go. But he was given a powerful incentive like keeping his job. And, of course, you can guess the result, or, can you? Would you believe a $12,000 wedding? And that’s not all. Just before I left the Plaza, Curt told me that his wife’s friend’s daughter had a sister, not yet married. I believe I mentioned there’s a laundry in the Plaza. Thirty ladies work in that laundry, three levels below the street. When they are working, these ladies don’t exactly remind you of fashion models. They wear short white socks and sneakers, no make-up, and I suspect, although I have never been able to prove it, that three of them chew tobacco. You can imagine the skepticism, which greeted one of those ladies when she asked if she could earn a strawberry patch for a lead on a luncheon of her church group. How many members? Only 500! At least 500 showed up for lunch at the Plaza dressed to the heavens and paying cash. That laundry lady is papering her walls with savings bonds. An Oak Room captain, and a laundry lady, likes hundreds of other Plaza staff members, they wear the strawberry patch on their nametag. Everybody sells, and that includes me. I made sales calls with the Plaza salesmen, and I have only one regret. I got so worked up myself over the strawberry program that I was indiscriminate about whom I called on. And one day I called on Western International Hotels, and sold them the whole place. And lest I forget what I have been preaching. The Plaza staff awarded me this (indicating a strawberry patch on his tee shirt), the biggest strawberry patch of all. They told me if I wore it, I would never go hungry, and they must have been right, because I just had a free lunch.”

This truly is an inspirational speech that should motivate us all to do a better job at listening, and learning about our craft and our customers. 

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5 Marketing Elevator Pitch Examples for Growing Your Business

• Written By Lindsay Tigar
• Updated: August 13, 2024

In every smart marketer’s toolkit is a winning elevator pitch. After all, at the heart of your job is the ability to sell your services as well as your client’s brand or products. What can make or break a lead is the quality and delivery of your speech.

The recipient — rather via email or on the phone — shouldn’t be confused or left wondering by your proposition. As you start to develop best practices and go-to marketing elevator speeches, make sure you cover these essential basics:

• Who you are
• What you do
• The purpose of your call
• The value of your call

Though it may seem like a long list for a short opportunity to capture someone’s attention, you can cover these in a few words or a single sentence.

5 persuasive marketing elevator pitch examples

As with most tasks when growing a business, learning on the go is part of the process. And, seeking inspiration from others. We’ve collected effective marketing elevator pitches to guide your pitching process . These check all of the must-haves and will help drive results.

1. For when you’re selling a service.

“Hi my name is [NAME]. I [WORK FOR OR REPRESENT] Hux. Hux is an online platform directly connecting local consumers with house cleaners. With Hux, you can easily compare local house cleaners on total price, reviews, availability and instantly book a service. Our technology empowers local house cleaners by replacing costly overhead found in the traditional service industry and makes it easy for consumers to book services online in just two minutes. Just think of us as the Uber of house cleaning! Can we set up a time to chat about Hux?” 

Why it works: The listener will have no questions about the service or platform with this no-frills, to-the-point marketing elevator pitch .

2. For when you’re attending a conference (virtual or otherwise).

“Hi, my name is [NAME] and I am here representing ______ water filters. Are you familiar with our products? We are moving into several new markets and I am hoping to bring you to the forefront of our brand new campaign. By choosing our water filters, you are making a decision to provide your employees with fresh, clean water. Our products are made with a new type of filtering system that is built to provide healthy water free of dangerous minerals and other types of pollutants. I know that you are based in the downtown area where having a clean water system is very important. Our company will have a booth set up in Room 3 tomorrow afternoon where we will be giving out free samples of our water filters. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow afternoon. Here is my business card in case you have any further questions and would like to get in touch…”

Why it works: When you’re heading to a large-scale conference (whether virtually or in-person), making contact before can be a helpful way to establish a relationship . This pitch gives all the information without going overboard.

3. For when you’re presenting to a large audience.

“To start, AccessDirect president and founder John Kinskey shares only one sentence: ‘We provide hosted telephone systems for small companies.’ Allowing a pause for questions, he goes on to share more details: ‘We provide virtual phone numbers, either a local or toll-free telephone number. We can also host your existing phone number. Our system includes an automated attendant to answer all calls with a professionally-recorded outgoing greeting so your company sounds more professional. We can customize a menu of options with multiple extensions, call transfer, voicemail to email and fax. What is best about a virtual phone system is that your staff can work from anywhere with an answering system that makes it sound like you all work in the same office.’

Why it works: This example is a bit different — but effective. Imagine the scene in the room: there’s a presentation introducing your name, and you have the audience’s attention for your marketing elevator pitch . In this scenario, being a tad dramatic works.

4. For the quick catch.

“Hi, I’m Sally Smith, a virtual marketer who helps busy small business owners get more done, in less time, to earn more profits. I’m currently taking on new clients. What business activity do you dislike doing the most?”

Why it works: Believe it or not, this marketing elevator pitch covers all of the necessary elements but it’s short-and-sweet. This approach  can be impactful since the recipient doesn’t need to read more than a handful of lines.

5. For the conversation-starter.

“Hi, my name is [NAME]. My company develops and designs personalized online sales funnels [what your company does]. That means two things: one, online customers enjoy a flawless user experience tailored to their needs and interests, and two: our clients get automated solutions that dramatically boost sales [unique business proposition]. We helped our last client increase online revenue by 120 percent month-on-month [hard numbers behind your results]. Does your company have any experience with ecommerce automation? [engaging question]”

Why it works: If you find the perfect lead that would benefit from your services, you want to hit them where they’re hurting. This elevator pitch touches all of the bases , and ends with a question that’s hard to pass up.

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How to Write a Marketing Speech Presentation

by Scott Christ

Published on 26 Sep 2017

Delivering a marketing speech and presentation can be especially daunting, as you are often required to present important business concepts and propositions in front of high-level executives as well as peers. To be successful, take the time to prepare and rehearse your presentation.

Plan your presentation. First, identify the audience. You generally won't want to give the same talk to marketing executives at your company, marketing professionals at a conference, or the marketing and sales team at a client meeting. Once you know the audience you are presenting to, decide on a topic and your goals and objectives. Plan to give an extemporaneous speech - that is, not read from a manuscript or memorized, but developed beforehand and presented from an outline or notes.

Craft your outline to include an introduction, a body consisting of two or three main points, and a conclusion. In the military and other venues, this is characterized as "Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you told them." Include bullet and sub-bullet points for each of the sections of your speech. The entire outline should consist of one page per section so you can easily manage your talk. Alternately, transfer the outline to index cards and use them as the notes for your presentation. Keep track of your pages or cards by numbering or otherwise coding them -- this is critical! As you flesh out your presentation, update your outline or cards.

Prepare your introduction. Grab your audience's attention right away by telling a story or presenting facts that relate to your topic. State your goal and make a strong benefit statement for your audience about what they'll gain from it. For example, "Today you're going to learn how our company's marketing engagement platform can outperform the current marketing strategy by 20 percent." Then, provide a brief overview of the balance of your presentation - that is, tell them what you're going to tell them.

Develop your talk's content -- the "tell them" part, consisting of two or three main points, each in its own section. Tailor your content to your audience. For example, if you are speaking to a team of marketing research professionals, discuss marketing research techniques your company has successfully used in the past. Support your argument or main points with factual, evidence-based statements, such as market research findings, competitor data, marketing analytics and return on investment data for your products or services.

Fashion the closing statement, the part where you tell them what you told them. Re-state your goal and summarize your talk's main points. Tie in your topic by telling a memorable story that relates to your marketing audience. For example, you can talk about past successes with a recent client or how you helped the senior leadership team overcome a marketing obstacle. End with a call-to-action. Examples of calls-to-action for marketing speeches and presentations include asking for a sale, telling participants to visit your website for a special offer, or asking for a second meeting to discuss your marketing strategy in greater detail.

Practice in front of a mirror, with one or two close colleagues, or a videocamera, or a combination. Don't grip the podium for support and don't hide behind it. Instead, place your notes on the podium, glance at them, come out from behind the podium, and engage your audience. Return to the podium only to glance at your notes again for the next point. If you use index cards, you can keep the "current" one in your hand so you don't have to return to the podium as often. Don't hide the fact that you're using notes -- it's better to glance at them every couple of minutes than to read verbatim from a couple dozen printed pages.

During the speech, speak slowly and clearly, and make frequent eye contact with participants. One way to help "break the ice" is to make your presentation more interactive by asking questions early on and getting participants involved.

Using a PowerPoint presentation is an excellent way to engage your audience, but don't read the text from the slides unless they're quotes or statistics. Instead, glance at the slide and then return to maintaining eye contact with your audience while giving a brief synopsis of the slide's content. Give a copy of the PowerPoint presentation to each participant, and make sure that your contact information is prominent.

Never read a speech - you spend more time looking at the text than at your audience, and if you lose your place, you'll disrupt your presentation trying to find where you left off.

Never memorize a speech - if you forget a word, you'll disrupt the flow of the presentation and might miss key points.

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Using a Speech to Promote a Product or Service-Use Public Speaking as Marketing

This is part three of our posts on  How to Use Public Speaking in Your Career . In this session, we are going to show you a few simple ways to use public speaking to promote or market your new product or service. In fact, using a speech to promote a product or service is one of the most effective ways to conduct marketing campaigns for both large and small businesses alike.

Using a Speech to Promote a Product or Service

There are a number of different ways to use a presentation or speech to promote a product or service. We will cover each of these briefly in this post.

Promoting a Product or Service in Personal Meetings and Sales Calls.

• In-Person Marketing Meetings and Seminars.

Webinars to Both Educate the Public and Promote Your Product or Service.

• Paid or Guest Spots on Webinars or Podcasts.
• Use Videos to Promote Your Product or Service.

Below are a few ideas for each of these categories.

The most common type of speech to market a product or service is a sales call or sales presentation. Although this one has been around since commerce began, it is quickly becoming a lost art. As a result,  those who can do this well, are now, highly sought-after in the business world .

Salespeople get a bad rap. Movies typically depict salespeople as dishonest and immoral. However, if a salesperson is dishonest, he or she may survive for a little while, but bad behavior will quickly catch up with the person.  Good salespeople, though, are trusted confidants. They are problem-solvers and educators.  So, if you are giving presentations to individuals or small groups as a way to promote your product, the goal is to educate your audience. Help them solve a problem, and they will buy the solution. Your speech shouldn’t be about you or your product. It should be about the problem(s) your potential buyers are experiencing and how to solve these problems.

In decades past, if you needed a new suit, you went down to the local department store. The salesperson in the store was an expert on suits. The salesperson would be able to educate potential clients on the qualities of each style of suit, what was currently in fashion, and how to care and accessorize each suit.

That leaves a tremendous opportunity for people and companies who understand this need.  For instance, although we have a popular podcast, a YouTube channel, and a ton of social media pages, we still get most of our business from people who have a question, and who can’t get that question answered anywhere else. When someone calls our 800 number (800-975-6151) they are connected with an instructor who actually teaches our classes. We don’t have a room full of telemarketers who are reading off a script. We have professional educators who can answer any question that a potential customer might have. As a result, we are filling a need that almost all of our competitors have neglected.

Sales presentations whether one-on-one or one-to-a-group are becoming a lost art, but they’re a great business model. If you get really good at doing them, you will help your customers make better decisions. And the best results will increase your income.

If you are looking for a  step-by-step process to create a good sales presentation along with examples , visit this post. You may also be intrested in our post about how to design  Bid Presentations . It also has a  Great Sales Presentation Outline .

In-Person Seminars and Conferences

Prior to the video streaming era, in-person seminars were one of the easiest ways to maximize your promotional time. Instead of setting up a series of individual one-on-one sales meetings, you could invite prospective customers to a live seminar. These seminars were often either free or for a nominal fee to encourage audience members to come.

Back when I first started teaching leadership seminars, we promoted a 12-week series of training sessions. Since the class was both a significant investment of both time and income, we typically offered an “introduction” session a week before the series started. We would allow people who were interested in the class, but who hadn’t yet registered, to come and preview the course.

It worked really well. The preview session reduced the risk of making a bad buying decision because the prospective customer could actually see and experience part of the class in advance.

If you are over the age of 35, you may remember the financial planners offering the “free how to retire” seminar at the local Holiday Inn. This was a way for the financial planner to show a group of people how skilled he/she was at helping couples plan for their retirement. By offering part of his/her expertise for free to the public, the financial planner was often able to convert some of those attendees to customers. The sales managers from many companies, big and small, used to invest a tremendous amount of money on TV and radio ads to promote these seminars with the same end goal.

Today, though, getting a group of people to a seminar is much simpler.  With websites like  MeetUp  and  EventBrite , a company can create a seminar or conference with little or no investment.

Here is an example:

A local dentist can create a seminar called, “ How to Whiten Your Teeth Three Shades in Less than Six Weeks. ” (I just made that up. I’m not sure if that is actually possible, but you see how that might get someone’s attention.) The dentist promotes this seminar to every patient who comes in for a month. The dentist might tell his patients that the seminar is $29 per person, but if they bring a friend that is not already a patient, both of them can get in for free. Or, perhaps we could tell attendees that if they post the event to their Facebook page, they could get free admission. Regardless, we make the fee nominal but give attendees ways to come to the event for a discount or for free.

The goal is to  get a room full of potential new customers from your target market  and win them over with your skill as a dentist. The topic of your speech must also be something that captures your audience’s attention, of course. With a room full of your target audience, all you have to do is give a persuasive speech by expertly delivering your key points and providing valuable information.

By the way, according to a Bizzabo, a company that specializes in event marketing,  in-person seminars and conferences  are one of the big trends in recent years. Big companies like Apple started the trend with their huge product roll-outs to Apple enthusiasts. However, other huge companies have followed the trend as well. Last year, I was invited to speak at Transitions Academy. This is a conference where eye doctors, lens manufacturers, and salespeople come to learn about trends in the industry (and about Transitions Lenses). I had a blast speaking there, and the attendees gave positive feedback on the event as well.

Companies have realized that they can  replace the missing education part of the sales process with webinars . However, webinars are a little tricky. If you make them too “salesy,” you will turn off your audience.

Especially in web-based products and services,  webinars have become the go-to education and sales channel  (According to Go-To-Meeting… No pun intended.) They claim that 73% of the top marketers in the world believe that webinars are the best way to market, today. If you recall, since the education function of a sales professional has practically been eliminated in most industries, webinars are a great way both educate the potential customer and move them through a sales process.

Just as a warning,  leading webinars and leading in-person speeches are TOTALLY different skills . Just because you are good at one, doesn’t mean that you will be good at the other. For instance, when I lead an in-person meeting, I typically use few and simple visual aids, because my goal is to build the trust of the audience in me. In a webinar, your visuals are critical to keeping the audience tuned in to the presentation. So, when I speak for 30 minutes in person, I might use three or four slides. But when I lead a webinar, I might go through as many as 20 slides in the same time period.

For details on  How to Design a Good Informational Webinar , click here.

Paid or Guest Spots on Podcasts/Webinars

If you want to really get good at using a speech to promote a product, start a Podcast . However, this is a real-time commitment. If you want to test the waters,  promote yourself as a guest on someone else’s podcast or webinar . It does take a little homework to get one of these guest spots, but there is a tremendous opportunity if you are willing to do the work. An easy way that doesn’t take much effort is to just  Google [Your Industry] with the word “podcast” .

I tried to pick a really obscure subject matter just to show that Google will find anything. I found an article called  12 weird jobs you’ll be surprised to know exist  published by Business Insider. One of the weird jobs is a “Professional Bridesmaid.” If this was your career, you’d likely type “wedding podcast” into Google. When I did, I got  Top 10 Wedding Podcasts .

You’re likely to think, “Oh sure, Doug, weddings — of course there are a bunch of podcasts about weddings.” Okay, another obscure career is “Snake Milking.” I Googled “Snake Podcast” and I found  Best Reptile Podcasts . If you happen to be in either of these industries, I suspect that many of the podcast hosts for these programs would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to have you on as a guest!

Once you know who the host is, you can often easily find the person’s website, fill out a “contact us” form, and wait for a callback.

If you want to move faster on a guest slot, many companies have lists that they will market to and be the host of an impromptu webinar, teleconference or podcast. You can use the same process as we just talked about, but offer a fee to the host. He/she will likely move you to the top of the list.

The final genre for using a speech to promote a product or service is video. I won’t be able to cover everything that you will need to know in order to show the value of video when promoting your product or service. However, let’s cover a few basics.

Practice with Instagram Stories

The live video social media and “stories” are fantastic ways to begin to practice making marketing videos, but they have a short shelf-life. (They go away after 24 hours or so.) So, while you are learning, you won’t be leaving embarrassing videos of yourself all over the internet. (See my embarrassing early video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja_BEMmpcUo). It’s also a good idea to use these kinds of social media platforms to test your main points on the public. This will help give you a reference point for which topics you should put more effort into.

Get Some Help

The best investment that I ever made for The Leader’s Institute ® is hiring a full-time video expert. You don’t have to invest in a full-time person, though. You can contract out most video jobs very easily. Hiring the right people can get you solid advice on filming, lighting, and sound as well.

Don’t Post to YouTube Until It is Perfect

YouTube is hard work to break into, so you only want to put your absolute best stuff on that platform. Use Vimeo, Facebook, or Instagram for anything that looks less professional.

We will be talking a lot about video (especially live video) on future podcasts, so stay tuned and subscribe to the podcast!

You are Your Best Marketing Strategy

In today’s world, there are a tremendous number of ways to share your expertise with others to market your product or service. Using a speech to promote a product is just one of many. But always realize, that you are your best marketing. A fancy proposal, a flash ad, or an expensive business card will not do nearly as much to promote your product or service as you share your expertise with a potential customer!

Podcasts , presentation skills

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Advertising a Product: Speech Example for Effective Marketing

• Post author By support
• Post date October 4, 2023

Advertising is everywhere.

It surrounds us, bombarding our senses with images, sounds, and persuasive messages.

But how often do we stop and think about the power of those carefully crafted words?

A well-written commercial speech is like a small masterpiece of creativity and persuasion.

It has the ability to captivate an audience, engage them in dialogue, and ultimately convince them to take action.

In this article, we will explore the importance of a well-written commercial speech in advertising, examine some examples of effective speeches, and discuss the benefits it brings to both the audience and the company.

So, whether you’re a seasoned marketer or simply curious about the art of persuasion, get ready to dive into the fascinating world of advertising.

advertising a product speech example

A well-written commercial speech is extremely important in effectively advertising a product .

The speech serves as the backbone of the advertisement, conveying the message and capturing the attention of the audience.

Through engaging dialogue, a commercial speech aims to create a memorable and persuasive experience for the viewers.

Its composition plays a crucial role in maintaining company integrity, increasing profitability, and capturing the audience’s attention within the first few seconds.

Despite the cost of creating commercials through third-party companies, a well-written commercial speech can significantly enhance the visibility and profitability of the advertised product.

By conceptualizing the product, focusing on grammar and sentence structure, and creating multiple drafts, a commercial speech can be refined before being presented to company personnel and select customers for approval.

Seeking feedback and constructive criticism is also necessary in order to further improve the speech.

Ultimately, a well-written commercial speech can be transformed into an actual commercial, which when used wisely, becomes the most effective form of advertising .

Advertising plays a vital role in promoting products and services for businesses, using marketing techniques to raise public awareness and interest.

Moreover, advertisements have the potential to reach millions of individuals through online platforms.

Therefore, it is crucial to use advertisements wisely, ensuring they are both fun and informative, and maintaining their importance in locating missing people, businesses, properties, etc.

Key Points:

• A well-written commercial speech is crucial in effectively advertising a product
• The speech serves as the backbone of the advertisement, conveying the message and capturing the audience’s attention
• The composition of the speech plays a crucial role in maintaining company integrity, increasing profitability, and capturing the audience’s attention within the first few seconds
• Despite the cost of creating commercials, a well-written commercial speech can significantly enhance visibility and profitability
• Conceptualizing the product, focusing on grammar and sentence structure, and creating multiple drafts help refine the commercial speech
• Seeking feedback and constructive criticism is necessary to further improve the speech.

Sources 1 – 2 – 3 – 4

💡 Did You Know?

1. In the early days of advertising, product demonstrations were often done through “snake oil” speeches. These speeches typically used exaggerated claims to convince the audience that the product was a miracle cure or solution for a wide range of ailments.

2. The famous “Got Milk?” advertising campaign was initially launched as a response to declining milk consumption in California. The campaign aimed to emphasize the importance of having a constant supply of milk on hand to avoid running out.

3. The iconic “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” Coca-Cola advertising jingle was originally created for a TV commercial by the brand in 1971. However, the jingle became so popular and well-regarded that it was later released as a full-length song by the New Seekers, a British pop group.

4. To create the mesmerizing sound of a sizzling steak in a TV commercial, advertisers often use a combination of various objects. One popular technique is to pour soda over a hot skillet to mimic the distinctive sizzle sound and enhance the product’s appeal.

5. The first product ever to be advertised on television was a watch by Bulova. On July 1, 1941, during a Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies baseball game, the Bulova ad aired, featuring a simple 10-second animation of a watch face accompanied by the voiceover “Bulova Watch time.” This marked the beginning of television advertising as we know it today.

Importance Of A Well-Written Commercial Speech

In the world of advertising, a well-written commercial speech plays a pivotal role in effectively promoting a product. It serves as the voice that communicates the features, benefits, and uniqueness of the product to the target audience. Without a well-crafted speech, the intended message may fail to reach its desired market, leading to missed opportunities and potential loss in sales.

A well-written commercial speech is important because it captures the attention of the viewers or listeners, engages them, and convinces them to take action. It creates a connection with the audience, establishing trust and credibility for the product. It presents information in a persuasive and compelling manner, highlighting the value proposition and differentiating the product from competitors.

Furthermore, a well-written commercial speech ensures that the key messages are conveyed clearly and succinctly. It avoids confusion, ambiguity, or misleading claims, which can tarnish the reputation of the product or the company. By providing accurate and relevant information, a well-composed commercial speech establishes the foundation for a successful advertising campaign.

Examples Of Commercial Speeches

To better understand the impact of well-written commercial speech , let’s take a look at some successful examples:

• Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign:
• Slogans like “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything” capture the essence of motivation and determination.

Appeals to athletes and sports enthusiasts worldwide.

Trivago’s commercials:

• Feature simple yet catchy jingles.
• Effectively communicates brand purpose and differentiates itself as a reliable and convenient platform for booking accommodations.

The jingles get stuck in viewers’ minds, making the brand memorable and distinct.

Gatorade commercials:

• Use storytelling to engage the audience.
• Often feature professional athletes sharing their personal stories of perseverance and triumph.

Aligning the brand with values of hard work and dedication effectively appeals to athletes and fitness enthusiasts.

Corona’s “Find Your Beach” campaign:

• Captures the essence of relaxation and escape.
• Picturesque beach scenes and soothing background music transport viewers to a tranquil getaway.
• Effectively creates associations between their product and the desire for a carefree and enjoyable lifestyle.

(Blockquote) “Commercial speech has the power to inspire, engage, and create strong associations between the brand and its target audience. These successful examples demonstrate the impact of well-crafted campaigns and their ability to leave a lasting impression.”

You can summarize the key points into bullet points:

• Captures motivation and determination.
• Feature catchy jingles.
• Communicate brand purpose.

Establish reliability and convenience in booking accommodations.

• Use storytelling to engage.
• Highlight perseverance and triumph.

Appeal to athletes and fitness enthusiasts.

• Captures relaxation and escape.
• Creates associations with a carefree lifestyle.

Purpose Of Engaging Dialogue In A Commercial Speech

Engaging dialogue is crucial in commercial speeches as it captures the attention and keeps the interest of the audience. Dialogue brings life and personality to the advertisement, making it relatable and enjoyable . It allows the audience to connect with the message at a deeper level and creates a memorable experience .

When the dialogue in a commercial speech is engaging, it evokes emotions and triggers the audience’s curiosity . This emotional connection is vital in generating a positive response and influencing the viewer’s buying decision . By creating dialogue that resonates with the audience’s values, desires, or pain points , a commercial speech can successfully compel action .

Moreover, engaging dialogue in a commercial speech can also educate and inform the audience. It allows the presenter or spokesperson to share relevant information about the product in an engaging manner, ensuring that the audience retains the key messages . Through a combination of storytelling, humor, or persuasive language , the dialogue holds the attention of the viewers and conveys information effectively.

In summary, engaging dialogue in a commercial speech aims to create a memorable and impactful experience for the audience. It establishes an emotional connection , delivers information effectively , and ultimately influences the audience to take the desired action.

Reasons For A Well-Composed Commercial Speech

A well-composed commercial speech is essential for several reasons. Firstly, it helps to create a positive perception of the product or service being advertised. A poorly written speech can lead to confusion or even mistrust among the audience, hindering the success of the advertising campaign. A well-composed commercial speech , on the other hand, conveys professionalism, credibility, and expertise, enhancing the overall image of the product and the company.

Secondly, a well-composed commercial speech has the power to influence purchasing decisions. When the speech is persuasive, clearly articulating the benefits and value of the product, it can persuade potential customers to choose it over competitors. By highlighting the unique selling points and addressing the needs and desires of the target market, a well-composed commercial speech creates a compelling argument for why the product is the best choice.

Furthermore, a well-written commercial speech sets the foundation for effective communication between the company and its target audience. It ensures that the key messages are presented coherently and consistently. This consistency is crucial in building brand recognition and loyalty. When customers identify and resonate with the messages communicated through the commercial speech, they are more likely to develop trust in the brand, leading to repeat purchases and positive word-of-mouth.

Lastly, a well-composed commercial speech saves time and resources for the company. By clearly outlining the product’s features, benefits, and unique selling points, it minimizes the need for additional explanations or clarifications. This efficiency allows the company to focus on other aspects of the marketing campaign, such as distribution and customer service, ultimately contributing to increased profitability.

In conclusion, a well-composed commercial speech is vital for creating a positive perception of the product, influencing purchasing decisions, establishing effective communication, and optimizing resources. It serves as the driving force behind a successful advertising campaign, maximizing the potential for increased sales and profitability.

How do you advertise a product speech?

When it comes to advertising a product, it is essential to shift the focus from the product itself to the problems your audience is facing. By highlighting and empathizing with their challenges, you can captivate their attention and present your product as a solution. Gone are the days when a salesperson’s expertise at the local store was the go-to for purchasing a new suit. In today’s digital age, effective product advertising lies in understanding and addressing the specific needs and concerns of your target audience, showcasing your product as a modern solution to their sartorial needs.

How do you start an advertising speech?

To start an advertising speech, one effective approach is to begin by thanking the organizers and audience for the opportunity to speak. Expressing appreciation creates a positive rapport with the listeners, making them more receptive to the message being delivered. Following this, it is important to capture their attention by starting with a positive statement that immediately hooks their interest. By using a compelling opening line, the audience’s curiosity is piqued, encouraging them to continue listening.

Another effective way to initiate an advertising speech is to refer to current events, drawing a connection between the topic at hand and what is happening in the world. This approach not only makes the speech relevant but also places it in a broader context, allowing the audience to appreciate the importance of the message. Additionally, referencing a well-known person or a historical event can increase the credibility of the speech and create a stronger connection with the listeners. By starting with a relatable anecdote or a shocking statement, the audience’s attention is immediately captured, setting the stage for an engaging and persuasive advertising speech.

What is an example of commercial speech in advertising?

One example of commercial speech in advertising is the use of influencer endorsements on social media platforms. Influencers, who have built a significant following, promote and advertise various products or services through their posts or videos. By leveraging their influence, they are able to persuade their followers to consider or purchase those products, thereby engaging in commercial speech.

Another example is digital banner advertisements on websites. These ads are strategically placed on web pages to capture the attention of visitors and promote a particular product or service. With visually appealing graphics and captivating slogans, these digital ads aim to create awareness, generate leads, and drive sales, making them a form of commercial speech in the advertising industry.

What is an advertising speech?

An advertising speech is a form of commercial communication that is used to promote and persuade consumers to purchase a particular product or service. It is a means of conveying information about a product’s features, benefits, and unique selling points through various mediums such as printed materials, broadcast, or the Internet. Unlike political speech, which focuses on social issues, advertising speech is primarily concerned with promoting goods and services to generate consumer interest and drive sales. It aims to capture attention, create brand awareness, and ultimately persuade individuals to make purchasing decisions.

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• Tags advertising , effective , example , for , marketing , persuasive speaking , product , product speech , speech

How to Write a Marketing Speech Presentation

• Small Business
• Advertising & Marketing
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How to Make a Boring Presentation Interesting

Marketing presentation objectives, how to make a business plan presentation.

• How to Write Content Objectives in PowerPoint
• Oral Presentation Strategies

Revolutionary advertiser Leo Burnett once said, “Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” What’s good advice for writing ad copy also works when writing a marketing speech for a presentation, whether it is to your team, senior management or a client. On the whole, you can look at it as preparing a story, one you can break down into researching, writing and reciting.

Researching

Start with your audience. The level of formality depends on who is attending and what is at stake. If your presentation is to clients, thoroughly explore who they are and how they can benefit from what your company provides.

Collect the facts. You’ll want to include statistics, results, trends and forecasts in the body of your presentation. In addition, you need to anticipate audience questions and prepare to-the-point responses about the marketing information you are presenting.

Collect stories. To make the facts memorable, find stories that bring them to life, such as customer, client or employee testimony that is relevant to your presentation. Use stories to connect with your audience.

Set the goal. Decide what the outcome of your marketing presentation will be. Keep that goal in mind as you write and present your speech.

Refine your research. If you know your audience, then you know what is most important to present. Keep your writing focused, knowledgeable and simple.

Organize your ideas. Build your presentation according to what information comes first. Use your facts to make compelling points and stories to keep your audience engaged.

Open with expectations. Let your audience know why you are presenting to them and what they will get out of the presentation. Write this into the beginning of your speech.

Close the deal. Whether you are introducing your team to a product launch, presenting a communications plan to the board or pitching to a client, you need to write a compelling ending to wrap it up right. Visualize achieving your outcome as you write the ending.

Read the speech out loud. Because this is a speech, you need to write for oral delivery. Change words or flow so it sounds natural and not scripted, even though it is.

Time your speech. When you read your speech out loud, time yourself at a natural pace. You don’t want it to go over the time allotted.

Practice your pace. Once you have refined the written speech, practice your pace and presentation. You will feel more relaxed if you have prepared both the information and the pace in advance.

Create visual aids. Your presentation could be a computer slide show, but avoid simply reading each frame and keep your slides inviting to look at, as Burnett says. The same goes for white-boards and graphs.

• Brand Strategy Insider: The Advertising Wisdom of Leo Burnett
• Free Management Library: Basic Guidelines for Designing Your Presentation

Charli Mills has covered the natural food industry since 2001 as a marketing communications manager for a highly successful retail cooperative. She built teams, brands and strategies. She is a writer and editor of "This is Living Naturally," a consultant for Carrot Ranch Communications and a Master Cooperative Communicator.

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A Simple Guide to Writing a Memorable Speech [Infographic]

Updated: April 20, 2017

Published: March 31, 2016

You know what an "average" speech looks like. You've seen tens, maybe hundreds of them in your lifetime. Chances are, you've given a few of them yourself. They're good, and they're useful, but they're not awe-inspiring.

You might also know what an amazing speech looks like -- one that's engrossing, captivating, and inspires action. These speeches grab your attention from the very beginning and imprint us with something memorable by the end. Sometimes, they feel like magic.

While a lot of credit should go to a person's oratory skills, there are  elements of great, memorable speeches we can bring into our own practice.

Want to create a truly memorable, persuasive speech of your own? Check out the infographic below from PapersMaster to learn the elements of a great topic, how to structure your speech to achieve the best response, how to construct the body to support your claim, how to prepare to give your speech, and tips for a successful delivery. (For more detailed public speaking tips, read this blog post on the science of a great TED talk .)

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