Jahresabschlussrede

Master your year-end speech: 5 tips for managers

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As the end of the year approaches, so does the time for the end-of-year speech. To ensure that your speech is particularly effective, you should consider one or more specific points in addition to general tips:

1: Review of the year with gratitude

Take time for a brief review of the past year. Emphasize not only the successes, but also the challenges and the hurdles that were overcome together. Show gratitude for the efforts and successes of your team.

2: Outlook for the future

Take this opportunity to provide a brief outlook for the coming year. Share the company’s goals and plans to motivate your employees and get them in the mood for the common future.

3: Incorporate personal points of contact

Make the speech personal by sharing personal experiences or anecdotes from the past year. This creates an emotional connection to your team and strengthens the sense of community.

4: Express appreciation

Use the end-of-year speech to explicitly recognize the achievements and commitment of your employees. Sincere appreciation strengthens motivation and a sense of togetherness.

5: Strengthen a sense of community

Emphasize team spirit and cooperation. Emphasize how important the joint effort is for the success of the company and motivate your team to achieve great things together in the coming year.

With these tips, your year-end speech will not only be effective, but also tailored to the special requirements of this special occasion.

Book recommendation

Book: To catch fish, use the right baitIn the following book, you will find the tools, systems, and tips that will make you a persuasive speaker. So that you need less time for preparation, present more understandably and with more confidence.

Reto B. Rüegger, Thomas Skipwith: To catch fish, use the right bait. Scoring as a speaker with Power Presentations

 

 

 

If you want support for a speech or presentation, please let me know (+41 41 630 39 90).

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Gunter Pauli

Move your listeners, if necessary right at the beginning of your presentation

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The number one rule of public speaking is,”Don’t bore your audience.” Because that many times leads to the audience falling asleep.

Some situations are easier than others to keep the listeners awake. Especially with rising temperatures – at the moment it’s about 30 degrees Celsius in my office – and with meetings that feel as long as a marathon it can be very difficult to keep the listeners and participants attention. Karem Albash, a colleague from the GSA, has brought to my attention a video on YouTube, in which this problem is masterfully solved. It is a video excerpt from the Entrepreneurship Summit 2014 in Berlin. Even if this occasion is a while back, I think everyone can learn something from it.

In the video we see Gunter Pauli, entrepreneur and designer and co-founder of The Blue Economy. He’s one of many speakers. What does Gunter Pauli do to wake up the audience?

  1. Gunter Pauli is in a good mood.
  2. He’s brimming with energy.
  3. He sets the audience in motion.

In particular, I think the third point is worth mentioning. Even though the first two points are a prerequisite for the third point to be successful. Namely: He makes the audience get up. At first glance, he doesn’t seem to be able to do it with all spectators. But he doesn’t give up: He insists. The audience seems to follow him. Especially as he has to ask the audience to sit down again at a later date. Acoustically, we hear that the audience has fun to participate. Yes, often this is the case: the audience wants to have fun or at least be entertained. Don’t be boring. As mentioned at the beginning, this is the highest rule of public speaking.

In addition, the third point is interesting because it helps the audience to take a different viewpoint. This contributes to the audience’s willingness to take new ways of thinking.

Why not also invite your audience to stand up, stretch out and move in a meeting or conference?

Click here for the video of and with Gunter Pauli

The sequence takes only 40 seconds (00:07 – 00:47). Look at it.

As always: Practice makes perfect. Only if you take the trouble to implement the tips, you have the chance to make a good speech.

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