Funeral directors are often called upon to speak in front of an audience and to make speeches at local businesses or events. We all want our speeches to have impact and be memorable and the infographic at the end of this article can help you to leave a lasting impression at your next speaking engagement.
We all know what an ‘average’ speech sounds like. We have seen many, maybe hundreds of them over our lifetimes. They’re good, and they’re useful, but they’re not awe-inspiring.
Conversely, we all know what an amazing speech sounds like. They are absorbing, captivating, and inspire action. These type of speeches grab our attention from the very start and leave us with something memorable by the end.
While a lot of credit should go to a person’s speechmaking skills, there are elements of great and memorable speeches that we can adapt into our own speeches.
Website papersmaster.com has put together the infographic below to help create a truly memorable and persuasive speech. It explains the elements of a great topic, how to structure a speech to achieve the best response, how to construct the body to support a claim, how to prepare to give a speech, and tips for a successful delivery.
Return to Sender are New Zealand’s leading designers and manufacturers of contemporary coffins, catering to the growing number of people looking for more contemporary, aesthetically designed coffins with an environmental focus.
Return to Sender’s award-winning coffins are designed to ensure families are able to express what was important to their loved one through their coffin choice and are now available in Australia exclusively through Ashtons.
The Wayfarer is an outstanding example of Return to Sender coffin design and has the following features:
A lightweight modern coffin design
Constructed from laser-cut plywood from sustainably harvested forests
Beautiful real leather handles and lid fixings
Ultra-lightweight but very strong
A minimal elegant form
Australian wool fleece mattress & pillow
Part of Ashton’s Memorial Tree Program
Internal dimensions L x W x D (cm): 191 x 56 x 29
The Optional extras that are available for the Wayfarer include:
Grief is a multilayered response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone who has died. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical dimensions. While the terms are often used interchangeably, bereavement refers to the state of loss, and grief is the reaction to loss.
The grief associated with death is familiar to all funeral professionals, but it must be noted that individuals grieve for a variety reasons, such as unemployment, ill health or the end of a relationship.
This video gives brief insight into the way people deal with grief:
0:05 Seven stages of grief
Body reactions
Depression and panic
Guilt
Anger
Idealisation
Realisation
Acceptance
0:30 Anger
Anger at self
Anger at person who has passed away
0:40 Guilt
Feeling responsible for person’s death
Dwelling on what we could have done to prevent death
1:02 Depression & Panic
Difficulty functioning in life (work, relationships)
Fatigue
1:30 Body reactions
Lack of sleep
1:54 How grief affects us
Lack of decision making ability
2:37 Children and grief
Adults may not understand the concept of death
Allow children time to move through grief
3:02 Funerals
Families may not communicate well when in the same room
A personalised Expression Coffin can greatly help to make a funeral more meaningful for a family. The feedback that we receive from our funeral directors as well as families is a testament to this. Comments such as: “It was truly Dad”, “It’s exactly what my wife would have wanted”, and “It celebrates his life beautifully”, are frequent responses we receive when people choose a personalised Expression Coffin.
The personalised Expression Coffin design process is made very simple by our creative team, who work with funeral consultants or directly with the family. The steps below outline the process that our creative team goes through to produce a personalised design.
Images and information received
We receive images from either our funeral director clients or directly from the family.
The images are often scanned from old photos that may be torn, faded or damaged.
We can fix most issues with damaged images in Photoshop.
The funeral director or family may suggest some design ideas or more often they leave it up to us to create the design.
Some photos are scanned and sent to us with rips or creases. Our team can ‘repair’ these issues in Photoshop.
Photoshopping and correcting images
Images are imported into Photoshop and any issues are digitally ‘repaired’.
We start to formulate design and layout ideas at this stage.
The colours of this image are made more vibrant and the lighting improved using Photoshop. The torn corner is digitally ‘repaired’ using Photoshop also.
Design layout developed
We develop ideas for the design and download any supporting images from our online digital image databases.
Our image databases have over 50 million high resolution images which we have access to.
A supporting panoramic image is selected which will be used along the sides of the coffin. This image is chosen because it has similar colours to the images that the family supplied and is a famous snowboarding location.
Final design
A final design is developed and digital 3D rendered proofs are created and sent to the family and/or funeral consultant for approval.
Alterations and changes to the design can be made during this stage, before the coffin is produced.
The purchase decision is only the ‘visible’ part of a complex decision-making process by the consumer. But what happens before and after this purchase? What are the factors influencing the choice of product purchased by the consumer? Funeral industry professionals are dealing with consumers making buying decisions every day and it can help to understand what internal processes that consumers go through on their way to making a decision to purchase a particular service or product.
In 1968 Engel, Blackwell and Kollat developed a model of the consumer buying decision process in five steps: Problem/need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives to meet the need, purchase decision and post-purchase behavior. We will look at each step in detail.
1. Need recognition / problem recognition
The need recognition or problem recognition is the first step in the buying process. If there is no need, there is no purchase. This recognition happens when there is a gap between the consumer’s actual situation and the ideal/desired one.
For example, the ability to be able to travel to your work by car in 20 minutes every morning (ideal situation) rather than lose two hours using public transport (actual situation) is something that means a lot to most people. So the obvious need arises for the purchase of a car.
The recognition of a need by a consumer can be caused in different ways: internal stimuli, which is the physiological need felt by the individual such as hunger or thirst, or external stimuli, such as exposure to an advertisement.
2. Information search
Once the need is identified the consumer seeks information about possible solutions to their ‘problem’. They will search for more or less information depending on the complexity of the choices to be made.
The consumer seeks to make their choice and assists their decision-making process with:
Internal information: this information is already present in the consumer’s memory. It comes from previous experiences they have had with a product or brand and the opinion they may have of the brand.
External information: This is information on a product or brand received from and obtained by friends or family, by reviews from other consumers or from the media.
NOTE: During the decision-making process a consumer will more highly value their internal information and information from friends, family or other consumers than advertising, websites or a brochure of the service etc.
3. Alternative evaluation
Once the information is collected, the consumer will be able to evaluate the different alternatives that are offered. They will evaluate the most suitable alternative that best solves their need or problem, by looking at:
The objective characteristics, such as the features and functionality of the product or service; and
The subjective characteristics, such as perception and perceived value of the brand/business or its reputation.
NOTE: Each consumer does not attribute the same importance to each attribute for their buying decision process.
4. Purchase decision
Once the consumer has evaluated the different solutions available for meeting their needs, they are able to choose the product or service that best solves their problem or meets their need.
This decision will depend on the information and the selections made in the previous steps based on perceived value, product’s features, services offered and other capabilities that are important to them.
5. Post-purchase behaviour
Once the product is purchased or service is used, the consumer will evaluate the adequacy with their original needs (those needs which caused the buying behavior). And whether they have made the right choice in purchasing this service or product. They will feel either a sense of satisfaction for the product/service (and the choice). Or, on the contrary, a disappointment if the service or product has fallen short of expectations.
NOTE: The post-purchase evaluation may have important consequences for a business. A satisfied customer is very likely to become a loyal customer and/or refer the business via word-of-mouth. Positive or negative, consumers will also be able to share their opinion within social networks or on consumer review websites.
Summary
By improving their knowledge of the consumer buying decision process, businesses can improve their marketing strategy to effectively respond and be present with their customers at each stage of their buying behavior. And thus raise and create a need, strengthen their relationship with their customers and grow their reputation.
Our stunning Return to Sender coffin, the Archetype Rimu, is a modern take on a traditional shape.
Made of sustainably harvested rimu.
The handles are integrated in wood so metal or plastic handles are not required.
The interior is a feature and does not need to be hidden with fabric.
The lid is fixed by wooden keys (supplied).
Finished with a subtle wax sheen.
Australian wool fleece mattress & pillow
Part of the Memorial Tree Program.
Internal dimensions L x W x D (cm): 195 x 54 x 33
The optional extras available for this coffin include:
Bamboo blanket
Nameplate
Crucifix
What is Rimu timber?
Rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) is a sustainable, native New Zealand timber. It is prized for its inherently beautiful grain and is used extensively for fine furniture and in older character homes as finishing timber.
Rimu forests are required to be managed to exacting standards under detailed long-term sustainable management plans. Every forest has its own individual Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry approved Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Plan or SFM Permit.
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