I've always brought Mike Pacchione in to coach every speaker at my Craft + Commerce conferences, including myself, because he has an uncanny ability to help people transform their talks from good to truly great. Mike's number one goal? For the audience to forget it's even a speech. In our conversation, Mike unpacks his framework for crafting compelling stories, why you should almost never tell them in chronological order, and his genius TED acronym for tension, editing for emotional impact, and the right details. He also shares invaluable insights on designing an ending that resonates and even how to strategically use humor (especially if you're not naturally funny). This episode is packed with lessons I've learned firsthand from Mike over the years.
Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 02:00 Making the audience forget it's a speech 04:06 Setting the room up for success 06:14 The power of stories in speeches 08:39 Story selection and placement 10:42 Why you don't need to tell stories in order 11:11 Mike's TED acronym for storytelling: Tension 14:55 Editing for emotional impact 20:02 Crafting an engaging middle of a speech 22:57 Asking questions to build tension 24:37 Describing people in vivid detail (loglines) 30:48 Crafting a powerful ending 33:09 The "one more thing" strategy 40:07 Controlling the emotional arc of a talk 40:50 Using humor effectively 44:09 The power of awkward silence and tension 45:53 Cueing the audience for laughs and applause 48:14 Leading the audience with your emotions 50:57 Mike's take on using AI for speeches 55:24 How to work with Mike Pacchione 56:47 Mike's free resource
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Highlights: 02:01 – Getting the audience to forget it's a speech 15:30 – Ending your story in the middle for maximum impact 26:06 – Sarah: The person who eats quinoa for a cheat meal 37:05 – Why you should never end your talk on Q&A 53:02 – The point of a speech is to make an emotional connection
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