Recently, I was interviewed by my NSA colleague Shannon J. Gregg, PhD, for her Life Sciences Sales Lab podcast, and she asked a question that took me straight back to the early 1990s.
“Patricia, when was the first time you coached a scientist?”
That honor goes to my next-door neighbor, Mike Powell. In the mid-1990s, he was a senior scientist at Genentech and deeply involved in research on the AIDS virus. I invited Mike to speak to a group of highly successful women in business, all members of the Continental Breakfast Club.
Before his talk, I suggested, “Most people don’t really know what scientists do. Open by giving us a high-level picture they can relate to.”
Mike didn’t disappoint. He opened by saying:
“𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐣𝐢𝐠𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐩𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞… 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦… 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭… 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞.”
You could feel the shift in the room. Everyone leaned forward.
That is the power of a great opening. It creates instant understanding and emotional engagement.
For his close, I encouraged Mike to tie back to that opening and, if possible, elevate it with an inspirational point that reinforced his theme.
He did exactly that.
It is never too early to begin thinking about a speech.
