Develop Effective Talking Points - TCW Academy Course
Approximate time to complete course: 22 minutes
This course is ideal for:
- Professionals in all fields
- Communication professionals
- CEOs and Organizational Leaders
- Media Liaisons
- Anybody presenting before a group – large or small
- Anybody helping to prepare a public speaker or spokesperson
Talking points are a set of clear and concise words and phrases that can be easily remembered and help guide a speaker’s language. They are not fully developed sentences or a script to be read. Talking points help guide a speaker as they present remarks, deliver a presentation, participate in a meeting, or answer questions by stakeholders and the media.
All professionals must have a basic understanding of how to prepare and leverage talking points whenever they intend to speak to an audience of any size, but those who speak to large audiences, on important topics, or to the media must be extremely proficient in the development of talking points and delivery of remarks. The content in this course should be referred to each time talking points are being prepared and those who speak often should practice these strategies until it becomes second nature and easy to accomplish in preparation for speaking engagements.
The development of talking points is a skill that all professionals should possess and one that can be done in a way that either supports the speaker, or can completely derail a presentation.
Format Talking Points
Talking points are not intended to provide all of the information and every word you wish to express. Begin this course by developing an understanding of the most effective way to develop and format your talking points so they are effective in any environment in which you must speak.
Capture and Support Key Points
Here you will learn to develop, prioritize, organize, and support the main points you wish to impart on those you are speaking with.
Consider Your Audience
When developing talking points, one of the most important points that you must keep at the forefront of your planning, is remembering who these remarks are for. (Hint: they are not intended for you.) Here you will learn to effectively identify and target your primary stakeholders.
In this course, you will:
- Understand the proper formatting of talking points,
- Learn how to create effective talking points that enhance public speaking engagements, and
- Explore considerations specific to your intended audience
Additional Resources
Who Is On My Organization’s Crisis Communications Team?
Your organization’s crisis communications team is possibly the most important collection of people who will navigate every emergency and crisis your organization experiences. These folks are not only the conduit to your critical stakeholders, often they are the gatekeepers and evaluators of risk and decisions. They serve as the organization’s central core and coordinate the decisions and actions of other staff.
A very large organization likely has a sizable communications team to fulfill the responsibilities of a crisis communications team. However, your organization may have a communications team of one or just a handful of employees.
The question you must consider is how do you create an effective crisis communications team with people who are not professional communicators?
Don’t do THIS with Reporters – 4 Don’ts for Media Relations
Some days, media relations is exhilarating, and some days it is quite a chore. Any seasoned media relations professional or senior management staff in an organization dreads the phone call or email from a reporter asking for comment on a story you would prefer they not do.
But the fact of the matter is they are likely not going away. You’re going to have to talk to them.
Here, we will share the four don’ts.
A Complaint Management System to Turn a Critic Into an Advocate
Every organization has their critics and must have a complaint management plan to prevent a critic from becoming a crisis.
Sometimes, criticism is warranted. But if we’re being honest, organizations don’t always receive complaints that are warranted, or even sane.
But whether or not we believe a complaint (or the complainer) to be reasonable and rational, we must come to an internal agreement in our organization on a complaint management system. Use these 10 keys to develop and implement an effective complaint management system to turn a critic into an advocate.
Communication is NOT My Job
Many professionals believe that communication should be left to the communicators – those hired for that role or who naturally excel in communication. You may be reading this because you have come to a similar conclusion and the headline caught your attention.
Communication is most definitely your job. It does not matter if you are a CEO, customer service representative, bus driver, budget analyst, or public relations manager – you are a communicator.
Reporters are Looking for a Sensational Story – Are You Providing One?
As outrage continues to accelerate in today’s society, media are constantly seeking the next sensational story to attract viewers and sell ads.
Though positive media stories serve to benefit your organization, sensational stories are about them – not you. They are about stirring controversy; latching on to social media trends; selling ads.
The best way to avoid being the centerpiece of a sensational story by the news media is to evaluate your organization and the ways your leadership and employees are engaging publicly.
10 Ways to Influence People
Dale Carnegie literally wrote the book on influence with, How to Win Friends and Influence People, originally published in 1936.
Rather than summarize the contents of his book, we will provide insights from lessons learned by decades of our own experiences. Of course, a quick cross-reference with Carnegie’s book finds several overlaps because much of his book aligns to our experiences.
Take the tips detailed here and find ways to integrate them into your work. Whether you are the CEO or an entry-level employee, the ability to influence people will serve you very well.
