Speaking like von Fürstenberg
45 years ago, Diane von Fürstenberg invented the wrap dress. Today, she stuns with feminist talks on how to design your life. What can we learn from her for tomorrow?
Substance
Von Fürstenberg’s speeches from the past three years touch a chord. In 2016, sexual harassment suits emerged as well as Donald Trump. A few months after he had moved into the White House, von Fürstenberg presented at a Conference for Women in Massachusetts.
She improvised on some occasions. Once this went well when she regaled the 12,000 people with an incident that had happened backstage. Once she almost blanked presumably because she did not rehearse enough. You can see a big difference when you compare it to this year’s TEDx talk, where she was well-prepared and had a clear goal: to empower women to live an independent life. Easy to say for an aristocrat you may argue, but wait for her story.
Structure
Von Fürstenberg was born in 1949 yet often starts off by talking about the deadliest war in history. Her mother barely survived the Nazi regime weighing 49 punds. Diane was born against all odds and married a German prince at the age of 22. They broke up five years later and she went to the US where she launched a trailblazing career in the fashion industry. The content might be slightly too egocentric, yet the chronological speech guaranteed a clear flow.
Style
You do not watch Schindler’s List to enjoy yourself. A conference is different, which is why von Fürstberg gets the audience to chuckle every three minutes. Even when she describes the cruelty of the concentration camps, she manages to lighten the mood with an absurd anecdote. If you use contrasting emotions, you intensify the audience’s response. That is why the ancient Greeks were so fond of tragicomedies.
It is moreover safe to assume that von Fürstberg is well-versed in marketing. She includes simple calls to action (like Elizabeth Warren), wears strong, colourful fabric and keeps other visuals to a minimum. At the TEDx talk, the audience saw a handful slides showing key phrases only. They supported the presentation and made little sense without additional explanation from the speaker.
5 lessons for public speakers
Rehearse 4-8 times so that you are confident on stage.
You can pick a mainstream topic but mention something interesting that happened on the day to prevent looking overprepared
Try a chronological speech that makes it easy for the audience to follow.
Don’t refrain from tragic anecdotes but contrast them with humour.
Keep slides simple and mysterious so that people listen to you.
Learn the techniques. Boost your confidence. Make your point.
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