Update: I watched Craig Valentine give his How to Keep Your Audiences on the Edge of Their Seats presentation on Halloween Day. His workshop delighted all the attendees. He is a master trainer and is serious about his craft.

He energized the room with his humor and valuable speaking lessons. He shared a tip and then gave a live demonstration. He answered each question or did a masterful job of rerouting. He gave me an idea for today's...

Feature Article: Creating Your Catch Phrase

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Did You Catch This?

At a recent social the hostess asked me to take off my shoes before entering the premises. No problem. Then she announced that women weren't required to take theirs off.

Now, I'm all ears...

When asked why, she claimed that women's shoes are part of their outfit. Therefore it would be inappropriate to ask them to remove part of their outfit. Sounds plausible to me.

Because I've watched women shop for shoes. It has to be perfect for a particular outfit or else it won't work. Men have it so easy.

Creating Your Catch Phrase

Dear Associate,

One of the most powerful ways to get your message across as a public speaker is giving your catch phrase.

What's that, you ask?

The catch phrase is that clear, concise, catchy, jingle-like, slogan sounding, and often rhythmic-in-nature verbal expression that paints a solid picture of your point. It could also be your point. It gives your audience an anchor to fall back on, or spring forward to as you're telling your story.

Think about it: when you finish speaking you'd want your audience to absorb and remember everything you said. Truth is that's nearly impossible. No matter how dynamic, inspirational or motivational you are, it's not going to happen. They'll forget most of your message by the time they reach for their car keys.

That's where your catch phrase comes in...

Your catch phrase triggers their memory about a particular story or lesson. It gives your audience something significant to walk away with. It puts the "Oh, I get it now" response on their faces and in their minds.

Some examples of catch phrases would be:

"And time stood still;

"Not for sale — at any cost; and...

"For beginners only."

Chances are you've heard a speaker go all over the place with her speech. Instead of moving you in one direction, she takes you into three or more. It's more than likely she didn't create her story around a simple catch phrase.

One of the keys to a memorable speech is to build your stories around your catch phrases. Most speakers, even many professionals, don't do this. At best I don't do it often enough.

But simplicity wins out over complexity every single time. And a catchy catch phrase is as powerfully simple as they come.

Let's look at three ideas for creating your catch phrase:

1) The short stack. Just keep it short and simple. No long or arduous sentences. Remember, a pithy and punchy phrase works better because it's more catchy and easier to remember and also repeat.

2) The lo-tech vocab. Avoid words that are hard to pronounce as in the ingredients on a cereal box. You wouldn't want to create confusion or blank stares from your audience. And stay away from industry lingo unless you're speaking to that particular industry.

3) The reason for the rhyme. Rhymes within phrases are probably the easiest to remember. They're cute, quick and require little effort to develop. There are even websites that help you search for rhyming words.

If you want your audience to remember you, your stories, and lessons, come up with a few catch phrases that tie-in with your stories. Or the other way around — build your story around a catch phrase. It's one of the most powerful tools any public speaker can apply to enhance her message.

Warm regards,