Speaking of Your Success

Listen up. If you are an achieving leader your time to speak is coming. 

For 15 years I have listed my occupation as entrepreneur. And for 15 years I have maintained a JIC (just in case) file. It includes dictated thoughts, beliefs and impressions, philosophies important to me, futuristic trends I envision, and highlights of reading material I want to remember. My JIC file also includes items and perspectives I thought would someday be of interest to others when I spoke to them. 

There are three types of speakers. The first type make their living speaking, but have never had the benefit of living their subject matter. They live off the entertaining anecdote and manufactured drama. They speak glibly, tell a few good stories, arouse your interest sporadically and momentarily, collect their check, and move on to the next town to repeat their schtick to another group. They leave little of value behind. 

The second type of speaker may or may not speak professionally but knows the subject from personal experience because he or she has lived it. This speaker has an impact on the audience because of credibility, as well as acceptable platform presence. The primary motivation to speak is to share personal experiences. There is a passion for the topic, and it shows. When leaving the room he or she leaves something behind that the audience can chew on. 

The third speaker type speaks for profit but also offers topical depth and value to the audience. Many celebrity executives and authors fall into this classification. 

If you are like me, many speakers have let you down. More often than not, the letdown came from those who didn't have credibility and personal experience within their subject area. Often, the speaker had stage presence and a glib delivery. He or she may or may not be making a good living, but it's all the person knows how to do, so he or she speaks as much as possible. This speaker proves you don't need impact to make a living speaking. 

Here you come, a successful achiever. People want to know what you do and how you do it. They ask you to give a talk. Have no fear. With practice and preparation, you can give a better speech than many of the so-called pros. I would rather listen to a thoughtful, organized, and prepared business person fresh from the firing line any day. And so would most others. 

How do you handle the transition from desk to platform? I don't pass it off as easy, but it's certainly not impossible. 

Helpful Tips for the Beginning Speaker 

Talk only on a topic you have a passion for. If the words aren't in your heart, keep them off your lips. Your passion will show in living color. A lack of it is cause to stay seated. 

Organize material chronologically, by category, and by contrast. Gather two or more points that play off of each other. 

Prepare, prepare more, then prepare some more. Use a video camera or mirror. Rehearse repeatedly. 

Work extra hard on the first five minutes of your talk. Know what you want to say, including something humorous. It doesn't have to be a knee slapper. Do what you are comfortable with. 

Change the pace every 10 minutes or so. Lighten up the message, tell about a real-life experience or back off the heavy stuff at least briefly. This "change up" will maintain their attention. 

Rehearse your message so you don't need to read a script. Use notes with key topical and transitional words instead. 

Write your own introduction. Too many introducers either get carried away or hardly say anything. Write an introduction and ask the introducer to read it word for word. Note: The best speakers with the strongest credentials often have the shortest introductions. Don't get carried away with your own importance. 

Do not try to psych the audience. This is a technique of motivational speakers. Audiences are moving away from motivation and toward harder-edged content. 

Be yourself. Don't try to con the audience. Be comfortable with yourself. Find a way to get the audience to participate. You may want them to vote on something by raising their hand, standing up to stretch, etc. Create physical participation. 

Use visual aids cautiously. Too many visual aids are both confusing and distracting. Be sure they can be clearly seen from the back of the room. Don't produce them on a typewriter. 

Spend time with the audience before you talk. It will loosen you up, and you will feel a rapport before you begin. 

Use a microphone. Don't let a small audience fool you. It's the size and type of room that's important, not the number of people. 

Move your body. Don't hide behind the podium. You may not be comfortable at first without a podium, but at least step away from it briefly every few minutes. Gesture occasionally. 

Alter your voice. Change pitch and pace frequently. Combine this with body movement. 

Be sensitive to eye contact. Look at specific people on all sides and at all distances. Stay beaded on one person for at least three seconds at a time, then move to someone else. 

Assume a wide stance. A narrow stance is weak and sissified. A wide stance transmits authority. 

Ask provocative questions. Cause the audience to think. You may ask rhetorically, or you may want to use questions as a way to get the audience physically involved. Either way, it's effective. 

Include short, crisp sentences. This provides a change of pace that adds emphasis and impact. 

End with emphasis. Opportunities include going back over key points in summary form, asking the audience to take action, or ending with an anecdote, quotation, or humor. Conclude with something that really charges you up and excites you. It will do the same for the audience.