How Well Do You Speak?

by Sandra Schrift

Published on this site: May 10th, 2005 - See more articles from this month...

Public speaking is the number one way to advance your career or your business. When you are a good speaker, you can close a sale, sell your point of view, and increase your productivity as a business professional. Here are 10 tips to get you started.

1. The key to being a good speaker is to appear credible and knowledgeable about your subject. Be perceived as an expert on your topic. If you don't do this the audience will not listen well and you will not be correctly interpreted.
   
   
2. Should you begin your speech with a joke or humorous story? No, to the joke. Yes, to the funny story. Begin with a humorous story that relates to your speech material. This is a great way to connect with your audience.
   
   
3. Control your nerves before you begin. Visualize your success. (the audience wants you to succeed.) Take some deep breaths to bring about calm. If you are speaking in a cold, snowy location, then arrive early and walk the halls for about 5 minutes.
   
   
4. Your job is to take care of these four items:
   
   . hold the audience attention
   
   . make a favorable impression
   
   . know what to do with your hands
   
   . answer questions from the audience at the end of your speech (if you don't know and answer, say, "I don't know, but I'll get the information to you later.")
   
   
5. Make eye contact. Look at one person long enough to deliver one complete thought, then move to another person and do the same. When you do this, everyone in the audience will feel that you are speaking to them also.
   
   
6. Why are visual aids important to enhance your message? Well, they jazz up your message and most importantly they increase the audience retention of your point(s). Most of us delineate our thoughts visually. So your audience needs to see as well as hear.
   
   
7. Don't make these mistakes.
   
   . forgetting to check the audio-visual equipment in advance of your speech
   
   . not demonstrating "enthusiasm" in your voice
   
   . projecting your voice too forcefully
   
   . forgetting to provide your program chair with your introduction
   
   
8. Rehearse! Rehearse! Rehearse! All good speakers prepare their resentation and then rehearse it for their friends, colleagues, spouse/partner, in front of your bathroom mirror and even videotape themselves for playback. I even line up stuffed animals (borrowed from my grandchildren) on chairs and create an imaginary "furry" audience.
   
   
9. Listen to good speakers, and then become one! All speakers do not sound alike. So hear a variety of styles. Do you want to be a Tony Robbins, Dennis Waitley, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, or Colin Powell? Get some ideas and then work on your OWN style. Include remarks that reach all the styles in your audience. Express yourself so that people can get auditory, visual and kinesthetic messages.
   
   
10. Why should you become an accomplished speaker? It will make you more self-confident. You will become more persuasive. You will be more dynamic in your delivery style. You don't need to do this alone. I coach speakers who want masterful presentations and am here to help you. too. Email me at [email protected] and be sure to visit my website for more tips at www.schrift.com/tips.htm

Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Get more clients and consistent monthly income? Judy Cullins, book coach, and Sandra Schrift, speaker coach, invite you to join a "Business Marketing Achievers" small group coaching beginning May 25th. We are looking for 12 committed people who are ready to use speaking and writing to catapult their business. For more details, contact Sandra at 1-800-340-3683 between 9-6pm pst. Hurry! This group will fill quickly. For details and to register go to: http://www.schrift.com/group_coaching.htm

Sandra Schrift 13 year speaker bureau owner and now career coach to emerging and veteran public speakers who want to "grow" a profitable speaking business. I also work with business professionals and organizations who want to master their presentations. Get more speaking skills at our "Summer Sizzle" webpage: http://www.schrift.com/summer_sizzle.htm Join my free bi-weekly Monday Morning Mindfulness ezine http://www.schrift.com/monday.htm