Public Speaking

A Professional Speaker Sets the Tone for the Message

As a professional speaker, everything you do the minute you walk into the room sets the tone for your message.  Without even speaking one word, you can determine just how many people you will reach because their engagement to your message depends on you; not on them.  You can have a great topic to speak on and great presentation skills, but without communication the passion you have about your topic, none of it really matters!

Go before your audience expecting to make an impact!  People aren’t interested in what you know.  They want your information for themselves and passion is like the “grease” that lubricates that passage of information!  Do you expect that your audience will receive what you have to say?  Do you communicate that you’re excited to be there and you’re also excited that they are there as well?

Be mindful of the needs of your audience.  As a professional speaker, we can get caught up with our message because you know it’s what your audience needs.  The problem with that train of thought is that it leaves one key person out of the equation - your audience member.  Prepare yourself beforehand to figure out what your audience may want to know or needs to know and then deliver that message.

Change things up for maximum impact!  There are going to be times when you can’t stay stuck to your outline.  Learn to improvise and adjust to the needs of your audience.  Find ways to engage them as you proceed throughout your message.  Do you remember in school that one teacher you had that you could never seem to connect with?  Students were falling asleep in class and the teacher still plodded on with their message!  How effective is that?  Change your presentation and tailor it to engage your audience no matter where they might be!  Don’t stay stuck in a routine!

Relate to your audience.  Relating to your audience goes beyond just speaking to them.  It encompasses everything from the greeting you give, the way you dress and your tone of voice you use to address them.  Part of relating to your audience means knowing who they are and what appeals to them.  You’ll have to research beforehand who your audience members are.  If you do this, you’ll be positioning yourself to be more relatable to them.

Passion is the key that opens their hearts and minds to receive what you have to say!  If you’re passionate about your topic, that will come across in your speech by default.  Conversely, if you lack passion about your topic, that too will also come across.  Do you really believe in what you’re talking about?  Do you see the value that you and your message have to offer your audience?  When you practice your speech, do you motivate yourself?  Just about every professional speaker starts off practicing by looking at themselves in the mirror!  Try doing that and take a good look at what you see!

Would you like to improve your professional speaking and being coached by Les Brown ? As a renowned professional speaker, author and television personality, Les Brown has risen to national prominence by delivering a high energy message which tells people how to shake off mediocrity and live up to their greatness. It is a message Les Brown has learned from his own life and one he is helping others apply to their lives. You can have access to his coaching and many more other professionals through LondonSuccessUniversity.com

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The real success of every presentation is leaving your audience with something of value.  What do they get out of spending time in your presentation?  Many people believe that they need natural brilliance in speaking well and presenting well.  The believe that they need to be polished, smart, witty and charming all before they actually start to build a speech.  Those attributes can come naturally, but most often, they come as a result of passion, knowledge and practice of the speaker’s material.

One of the most important factors in having a successful presentation is serving the needs of your audience.  Going back to the idea that you need to leave your audience with something of value, caring for your audience’s needs doesn’t require perfection.  You can make mistakes with speaking and it’s going to be okay.  The projector equipment can fail and it’s still going to be okay.  You don’t have to include humor in order to be a success.  With that in mind, real perfection is more like being successful at reaching your audience.

Give your audience two or three gold nuggets of information.  No one expects you to be a walking encyclopedia concerning your subject matter.  No one expects you to speak for hours on end about your topic.  It’s too much for you and for your audience to handle.  Find two or three heavy hitting points to make and work with those points so that they become exciting to hear.

To give your audience something of value, focus on them not on you.  Telling your personal testimony is great, but eventually during your presentation, you’ve got to find a way to relate your presentation back to your audience.  One rule of thumb concerning this area is to use 10 “you’s” for every one “I”.  That means you’ll talk less about yourself and talk more about your audience.

Realize you don’t have to control every situation in your audience.  You don’t have to emerge as the victor over negative audience members.  The audio/video equipment does not have to be perfectly functioning.  You simply don’t have enough time to combat situations in your audiences (I.e. - like them falling asleep, talking or cell phones ringing) and still communicate your message effectively.  Remember that your whole goal is to give your audience something of value.

Give your audience something of value by becoming their friend.  Sometimes you may need to stop thinking of yourself as a professional speaker and start thinking of yourself a close personal friend of the audience member.  You’ll teach them something and give them advice.  You’ll sound more natural in our speech and you’ll be more relatable to your audience.  People often associate those on stage as automatically having knowledge and wisdom on the topic covered.  While this thought is great to establish you as a leader, the points you make in your presentation may be better received if you came across from a more personal standpoint.

Your whole goal as a professional speaker is to leave your audience with something of value.  This means creating a solid bond between your audience and your material.  This means you think about the needs of your audience.  Give your audience something of value today!

Would you like to improve your professional speaking and being coached by Les Brown ? As a renowned professional speaker, author and television personality, Les Brown has risen to national prominence by delivering a high energy message which tells people how to shake off mediocrity and live up to their greatness. It is a message Les Brown has learned from his own life and one he is helping others apply to their lives. You can have access to his coaching and many more other professionals through LondonSuccessUniversity.com

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Put your best foot forward every time! One of the reasons that many people fear taking the podium is because they are afraid of being the focal point of everyone’s attention and they don’t want to make a fool of themselves.  There are several things you can do to “fool-proof” your speaking event so that you present well every single time!

1. Take the time to prepare well for your presentation.  Preparation enhances your confidence and it’s also an opportunity to refine any weak areas in your presentation.

2. Begin and end your presentation on time.  Arriving late to your presentation is simply unprofessional; not to mention that it won’t win you any points with your crowd.  Also speaking over time shows your audience that you don’t value their time.

3. Know your audience.  The only way you can really relate your audience is if you know who they are.  Profile your audience.  Are they male or female?  What income bracket are they in?  Why would they attend your presentation?

4. Dress appropriately for your audience.  Not all speaking engagements require a business suit!  There are many places where business casual attire has become the norm.  Before your audience even hears your message, they are already sizing you up and this is impacting whether or not they are hearing what you have to say!

5. Have a backup plan for visual aids used in your presentation.  You’ve selected to use visual aids because you thought they would be helpful in getting your message across.  What happens when laptops fail or the room cannot accommodate presentation equipment?  Create a plan on how you would handle a situation like that.

6. Tone down information overload.  Yes, you can overload your audience with too much information and if you’re not careful, you’ll lose them.  They’ll mentally check out.  As a speaker, you’ll want to present enough information that hooks them into getting more information from you!

7. Don’t use inappropriate humor.  Humor can be a tricky thing working for you or against you.  You will really have to know your audience in order to use jokes or humor appropriately.

8. Vary your speech tones.  The monotonous speaker will lose their audience within the first 15 minutes.  It’s okay to be animated during your presentation and in fact, doing so will transmit flair and passion that keeps people engaged in your message.

9. Relate your topic back to your audience.  Basically, stop talking about yourself!  Your audience might want to hear a testimony or two, but mostly, they’ll want to hear about them and how your presentation can help them!

10. Solidify your message.  Support your ideas with data and evidence and build a solid case for your viewpoints.  You can use statistics, testimonies, demonstrations, pictures and more!

Your presentation can be fool proof if you take the time to minimize mistakes.  By going through these key points, you can assure yourself that you are well prepared for any challenge that might come your way and you will experience the success you’ve always dreamed of!

Would you like to improve your professional speaking and being coached by Les Brown ? As a renowned professional speaker, author and television personality, Les Brown has risen to national prominence by delivering a high energy message which tells people how to shake off mediocrity and live up to their greatness. It is a message Les Brown has learned from his own life and one he is helping others apply to their lives. You can have access to his coaching and many more other professionals through LondonSuccessUniversity.com

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6 Questions that Professional Speakers Answer

In any presentation, there are basic pieces of information that an audience should receive from their presenter.  You are the problem solver presenting a solution that will benefit your audience.  Even if you are just blessing the newly weds at your best friend’s wedding, you will still have questions that must be answered.  The presentation should answer who, what, when, where, why and how regarding your topic.  In giving that information, your presentation will have clarity and will be on track to give the detail necessary to your audience.

1. Who - Who is your target audience?  What would they like to know about regarding your presentation?  Do they have any preconceived notions about your material?  What are their concerns?  Are you addressing the “who” you targeted in your research?  When you address the “who” of your message, you are better able to relate with your audience.  They will feel like you are speaking directly to them.  They will give you their attention because they feel like their needs are being addressed.

2. What - What is the message you want to communicate?  What are the issues?  What are the solutions?  The “what” in your message is the backbone of your presentation.  It is your purpose of your message and the reason you are speaking.  It is also the reason why people come to hear you.

3. When - When is the recommended time to take action?  Is there a sense of urgency in your presentation?  Stressing the “when” aspect of your message is especially important when you want your audience to take action immediately following the presentation - i.e. - sign up for a class, sell promotional materials, implement what was learned)

4. Where - Where is the problem located?  Where can your audience find the help they need?  “Where” signifies direction.  This leads your audience somewhere in your presentation.  Where would you like to take them?  Common “where” statements include “across America today”, “in college campuses nationwide”, “in the construction industry”, and “in families in California”.

5. Why - Why should they take action?  What are the motivating factors in prompting your audience to take action?  The main focus here is inspiration and motivation to take action.  Not only do you want them to listen to you, but you want your audience to take action on what you’ve said.  You want to somehow improve their lives and honing your message on the “why” is a critical necessity.

6. How - How can they respond to your message?  How can they take action based on what they’ve heard?  This is the learning and teaching portion of your message.  This can be the “how-to” section telling them how they can easily improve their lives.  This section often incorporates steps to follow. 

There are still many more questions that your presentation should answer.  As you piece all of these bits of information together, you’ll be giving your audience the detailed answers they are looking for.  You also present yourself as the credible source of information you want to present yourself to be!

Would you like to improve your professional speaking and being coached by Les Brown ? As a renowned professional speaker, author and television personality, Les Brown has risen to national prominence by delivering a high energy message which tells people how to shake off mediocrity and live up to their greatness. It is a message Les Brown has learned from his own life and one he is helping others apply to their lives. You can have access to his coaching and many more other professionals through LondonSuccessUniversity.com

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