How To Give A Great Speech

 

As the former owner of the National Speakers Bureau, I have learned "How to Give a Great Speech" from several thousand professional speakers. Here are some techniques I share with my coaching clients who want to become paid professional speakers or business professionals who want to deliver masterful presentations.

1. Speak from the heart.

Believe what you have to say or don't say it. If you are passionate about your subject, the words will come. Talk about the core beliefs you have about life, the simple truths you believe with all your heart.

2. Write down two or three specific goals you have for this speech.

Ask yourself, 'What do you want the audience to do as a result of your speech? 'Do you think otherwise? Act differently? Do something different?

3. Write it.

When you give a speech, make sure people need to hear what you have to say. Then you must understand it so well that you could explain it to an eight-year-old child. You know, if you write it enough times, you'll become familiar with it. If necessary, do not read your speech, just read the introductory sentences that you write on a three by five card.

4. Be present.

Connect with your audience in the first 60 seconds and then engage them in your speech. Once you've got your audience going, be sure to embellish some comments that you know are well received.

5. Know your audience.

Talk to the program chair ahead of time so you know who will be sitting in your audience and what they expect to hear from you. Are they male or female? What is the topic of the meeting or conference? What is their purpose in being there? Because that then becomes your goal. Make sure you give your audience not just what they want, but what they need to hear.

6. Room settings.

Don't forget to check the room in advance where you will present your speech. The worst thing that can happen to you is when they put bright lights in your eyes and black out the audience. If you go to check the room early, you can tell them that you can't give a speech to an audience in the dark. As a speaker, it is important that you see the faces in your audience.

7. Is there a technique?

Try to be as natural as possible, speak conversationally. Talk to your smaller audience as if you were in their living room. Don't look over their heads or behind them. Talk to them directly. If you are addressing a crowd of several hundred people or more, look at one person rather than another, rather than a third. But really look at them.

8. "Ums" and "Ahs."

"Um" and "ah" come from uncertainty. The key is to know the subject and what you want to say. And then practice, practice, practice. Use your mirror or talk to your friends and family. And above all, don't try to remember exactly the same words.

9. Personal stories

Don't forget to share your personal stories with your audience. People will learn from your vulnerability and your mishaps and be a step away from their own story. We define ideas visually, so your audience needs to see what they're hearing. You don't have to be smart, just share your life with your audience. Remember that you are seeking their trust and trying to help them. So just consider them your friends and humor them wherever possible.

10. Termination of speech

Develop an action plan. What do you want your audience to do now that they've heard your speech? Go around the room and ask them to share one nugget they got. Ask them for one idea they can use NOW. In two weeks. In one month. Be sure to summarize your speech and then call them to action.