The art of writing and delivering inspiring speeches
3H : Human / Horizon / Harmony

How can a leader/manager/entrepreneur/politician effectively engage his team around a collective adventure? Vincent Avanzi, Corporate Poet and Speaker in Leadership, explains the work and reflection to give inspiring “poetic speeches” with the 3H (Human, Horizon and Harmony) + the « Speaker ».

«Colonize Mars» Elon Musk, «Yes we can» Barack Obama, «I have a dream» Martin Luther King Jr. and even Emmanuel Macron more recently with «Make Our Planet Great Again» … Thanks to their speeches, all these leaders have succeeded in launching a global movement and creating a strong impact. At the origin of the infatuation they have created, there is a subtle and magical balance between the choice of words, personal alignment, connection with the audience, projection into the future and lyrical flights which resonate in hearts and minds.
Whether it’s for a start-up pitch, a speech to teams or annual conventions, or even just a speech in meeting animation, here are three pillars on which to base words that are both touching and striking to everyone, in a universal language.

1 / H as Human: the connection to yourself and to your audience

The public wants to feel the person it meets, to know him or her. It does not want to see a robot in Artificial Intelligence, but rather to feel the Intelligence of the soul that it will follow and with which it will co-construct the future. The leader of tomorrow must therefore have a deeply human posture. He must put forward an authentic narrative and a personal legend in order to touch the emotional memory, together with the mind and the head of the audience. Like an ordinary hero with extraordinary ambitions, the leader of tomorrow is free, without « ego. » He or she holds an « I » flourishing and confident, to serve the « We » of the collective adventure of his or her company.

► Connect with your true « self » to open yourself up and sincerely serve others.

2 / H as Horizon: the imaginary mind that awakens your visionary side

Every leader must set a course, draw a horizon, bring a vision and present a clear roadmap. But this design will only come alive by showing optimism and a strong will to succeed. Make your audience dream and remove any notion of limit, to make it touch with their fingers what seems unattainable. Keep in mind that tomorrow is not yet written and we are all possible heroes.
Indeed, around which epic, even heroic collective adventure, will you engage your team? What will be the quest for the grail in the general interest that you are going to propose? This is what I like to call the “G-enius Spot » so that everyone finds their place and plays their role in order to succeed in their own mission and that of the company.

► Do dare, a roadmap also contains its share of doubts. Grant yourself and your teams the right to dream and fail, in order to surpass the status quo and achieve success.
► Rethink your business model to ensure that their array of talents and potentials can spread their wings and touch the sky.

3 / H as Harmony: the rediscovered unity of Humanity

The leader of tomorrow must embody and establish harmony within his or her team. The word « harmony » means in ancient Greek “union, agreement”, to be, to live and to collaborate together. It is the balance, the result of open discussion, empathetic listening and mutual respect, within an inclusive and collective environment.
The challenge of the speech is to inject a suitable atmosphere to find the perfect collective music note of its team, the rhythm or the « flow », which brings together and leads to common success. In this quest for bond and convergence, the choice of words is important, because the latter often precede reality.

► Think about the societal or environmental impact of your business. What balance between profits and wages, business and personal development, performance and tolerance, growth and awareness will you bring out?

4 / And H as Head/Heart Phone or the “Speaker” … Find your style!

We could add a fourth H, as Headphone or Heartphone or “Speaker” in any sense, to represent the eloquence qualities of the speaker. Visual contact, stage play, intonation, interaction and communicative, even contagious, self-confidence … These are all essential elements to deliver a speech like Zuckerberg in Harvard for example. You will have to find your own style, your singularity and added value, by working your way of posing your voice and your stage performance.

► Ensure that your aura and presence are able to capture attention, arouse interest, mobilize desire and encourage action.
► Mastery of the language and the formulation of « punchlines » and slogans make it possible to reach its audience. It is all the art of the « poetic speech » between lexical field and the field of possibilities, from the communication of the right word to the projection in the ideal future.

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Author : VINCENT AVANZI, Chief Poetic Officer, The Ink of the Future
Vincent Avanzi is a Chief Poetic Officer, International Speaker and founder of A Human Odyssey – The Ink of the Future (La Plume Du Futur). Former Microsoft employee, globe-trotter and a life passion for poetry, he now gives Inspiring Key Notes and Interactive Conferences to companies and events on Inspiring Leadership, The Genius Spot, Corporate Poetry and Prospective Thinking. He also performs Poetic Speeches in business and public events around the world.

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