There is an interesting article by Rob Sherman on the Great Public Speaking blog that highlights the difference between using “you” in your speech instead of “I” wherever possible. In fact, Rob recommends that there be ten “you’s” to every “I”. Clearly, the moral is that it is better to talk about your audience rather than yourself.
So, I wondered how my speeches would hold up to this test, so I went back and reviewed one that I gave to the ABA’s GP/Solo & Small Firm Section a while back. Verdict: I did pretty darn good! W-E-L-L��.maybe not that good. Although I didn’t do too badly overall, there was that one two-sentence paragraph where I used “I” four times, and “you”��.zippo.
Okay, okay�. in context it was permissible, but you get the point. Put the focus of your talks on the audience, and avoid talking about yourself.