So, you have taken the step and acknowledged the importance of being a vibrant and emotive speaker.
But the results you were expecting are just not coming to fruition.
Whether you are currently testing the waters with live streams or are you throwing yourself into face-to-face talks, falling short of making the impact you want it might be down to these reasons –
1. Structure – Even the most concise people still have a tendency to go off topic with their talks, so it’s really handy to have a framework to follow.
There are many difference theories out there, however simply knowing what your beginning, middle and end looks like will enable you to stay focused and keep your audience engaged. So think about how you want to tell the story to your audience and get it into an easy to follow structure.
2. Coherent points – I know this sounds obvious but often things that seem to make sense to ourselves can be perplexing to a new audience.
If you are spouting stuff as it comes to you, you may end up with a few glazed faces in the audience. To help with this, think about how your thoughts and points can link and flow from one to the next.
In my training days, we called this a ’segue’, which was a way of seamlessly flowing from one point to another. This is particularly useful when using slides.
3. Engage your audience – whether you are running a live talk or workshop, a virtual webinar or live stream, it’s vital to make time to engage your audience. Ask them how they feel, pose challenges and questions, give them the opportunity to interact, build connection with humour. Pause and wait for response.
A completely one-way street can become a little boring and you may lose your audience’s attention at a crucial point.
Even if there is no opportunity for your audience to verbally respond give them the space to think about the questions you are asking them.
These 3 points are a very simple way of making sure you have the basics covered when you are preparing a talk.
Before you start analysing anything further go through each point and think critically about whether there are areas you can give your attention to.
I would love to hear from you where you think you could make some tweaks to the way you talk to your audience. Hit comment below and let me know.
Much love
Helen xx
PS – Do you need help putting these strategies together and making your way as a Stand Out Speaker?
Book your 45 minute call here and we can start to map out exactly what needs to happen for you to do just that.
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