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Would you like to connect better and deeper with your audience? Would you like to hook them with every word you say? And would you like to have a lasting impact on the audience after you leave the stage? Then, you better start applying the powerful – “Now, Then & What Happened” Technique – for developing a faster and a stronger connection with your audience.

In 1998, Bill Phillips, an American entrepreneur, produced an extraordinary documentary film entitled “Body-of-Work” documenting the transformation of 10 individuals who participated in a 12-Week Physique Transformation Challenge. The film was a huge success and made Bill millions of Dollars. It was entirely based on this technique – “Now, Then & What Happened.” Bill was cleaver in having 10 different individuals from different walks of life in the film to maximize the target audience so that each person who watches the film would identify himself or herself with one of the heroes in the film and then start their own transformation process using Bill’s dietary supplements line.

So how do you apply this in speaking? Let me give you a real example. I have a keynote called the 4 C’s of Professional Success. And depending on the audience’s sophistication level, I immediately like to come across as a credible speaker who knows the subject of professional success very well and not only that but also could demonstrate that I am a professional success too. So here is what I usually do. I jump right into a story and if you remember from the previous articles, stories are powerful to establish a connection with the audience and keep them engaged. I begin with this story:

In 2015, I spoke in three different continents – North America, Europe and Asia and not only that I was interviewed by CBS News in Washington DC. Can you believe that! This is my reality now. Traveling to different countries to speak and meet interesting people like you all the time. In 1996, I had another reality. I worked in an investment bank at the UGB Tower in the Diplomatic Area in Bahrain. I worked as a cleaner. Yes, as a cleaner to pay my university fees and expenses. I was responsible for various tasks including polishing the windows and making sure that they are shiny just like my head. So, today, I will share with you my story on how I went from sweeping to speaking using the 4 C’s of Professional Success.

My “Now” is being a speaker or my current reality. My “Then” was being a cleaner or my past reality. And the “What Happened” or “How” my application of the 4 C’s of Professional Success. I am sure you came across the “Before and After” pictures of people who lost weight. This technique is similar to this concept. You tell the audience about your “After,” then the “Before” and then tell them about how did you achieve the end results in terms of steps or solutions.

Recently, I was approached by a global consulting firm that specializes in customer experience consulting assignments to review its slides. I was very happy for it because its consultants apply this technique in their PowerPoint Slides to showcase their past clients projects successes and stories. Each slide had a three boxes: The before, the after and how the consulting firm helped its clients through its services.

The following diagram shows how you could present your idea on slide for your future talks:

Finally, be creative when you use the “Now, Then & What Happened” technique. For example, you could manipulate the equation above to suit your speaking occasion. You could start by sharing your vision of the future or the “After” and how would you like to achieve it by using certain steps or processes to move from your current reality. Use this powerful technique and you will be delighted by the results!

Mohamed Isa is an Executive Speech Coach and Writer who guides his clients in designing and delivering dynamic speeches so that they get laughs, applause, and their message across. He is the Co-Author of Amazon’s Best Seller: World Class Speaking in Action.

When I was 14 I had my only overnight fishing trip with my father and his cousins Mohamed and Hassan; and few imaginary great white sharks. It was windy, cold and it rained most of the time. I did not want to go with them but my father insisted and issued a decree in line with his Constitutional Powers. I had no option but to obey. The trip was frustrating to me because I never caught a single fish. However, I am proud to say I was responsible for anchoring the boat by throwing three anchors on to the seabed to make sure we are not cast away! Likewise, in speaking, if you do not anchor your points, they will fade away! So here are four techniques for anchoring your speech points.

Anecdotes. Anecdotes are simply stories that you share with the audience to attach your points to them. So if the audience remembers the story, they will remember the point. If you recall from a previous article, there are few crucial elements for a story to be effective like the Circumstance, Characters, Conflict, Conversation and the Carry out Message. In the above paragraph, I used few of these elements. Your story does not have to be profound but rather help you in achieving your purpose which is to anchor your points in the minds of the audience. Build your story file now and thank me later!

Activity. When you engage the audience in an activity, they are immersed in it and chances are that they will append your points to the activity. In 2002, I moved to Jeddah to join the Lipton Team. In my first management meeting we needed to decide the fate of a project. The Brand Manager, distributed Yellow Post-it notes to everyone and asked us to write either a “Yes” or a “No” to indicate whether we thought the project will succeed. The majority said: Yes. The Manager was smart to involve us in the activity so that we do not wander away with other preoccupations and to check on the sentiments of the team members. I am not surprised that I still remember this meeting until now. It was a simple but yet a great anchor. What activities could you use to anchor your points?

Analogy. Analogies are great in illustrating your points and making them unforgettable. For example, one time we had a management meeting and I used a boat to illustrate my viewpoint on a critical decision. The company received many plaques and trophies for sponsoring various events and one of them was a miniature boat. I placed the boat on the table and asked: If this boat were sinking, what should you do? Accept more load or off-load goods to survive? They all said: Of course, off-load. Here, I retorted: Exactly. But what the company is doing now is the opposite. So, ask yourself, what analogies you could use to anchor your points? I am fascinated by the pearl diving journey and I use it to illustrate my points across a spectrum of management topics.

Acronyms. Acronyms are great tools for anchoring your points. Be creative. Come up with your own sets of acronyms. Few years ago, I created an acronym that can help you become more energized to achieve more in your life. I dubbed it: CLAP. Celebrate Little Achievements Promptly. Most people do not celebrate frequently. Are you one of them? When you celebrate more, you achieve more because you build momentum. Join the movement, whenever you make an achievement, celebrate it promptly. Your passion will be fired up.

Look at your main points, identify the keywords, and try to come up with a thread or a theme to create you next acronym. The audience will appreciate it and you will get a bonus. Your acronym will help you in managing the transitions between your points. This will make you appear as a proficient speaker who moves smoothly through his points. Sounds great, right? You bet. That is what I am looking for. To make you a more effective speaker in fact and appearance.

Experiment with these four techniques to anchor your points permanently in the minds of the audience. You could use one or all four of them in one speech to make your messages stick. And remember if you do not have anchors, your messages will fade away in the ocean, never to be found again!

Mohamed Isa is an Executive Speech Coach who guides his clients in designing and delivering dynamic speeches so that they get laughs, applause, and their message across. He is the Co-Author of Amazon’s Best Seller: World Class Speaking in Action.