Give a great speech 7 secrets to dynamic and memorable public speaking
If your career path includes an evolving leadership role in your organization, you will almost certainly need to speak in public on a regular basis. No need to panic, here are seven helpful tips for giving a great speech.
1. Use an icebreaker. Avoid a boring opening like “Thanks for coming tonight.” Instead, connect with your audience using an effective icebreaker. An icebreaker will relax the initial tension between the speaker and the audience and allow you to establish a flow of positive energy. Successful icebreakers must be related to your topic and can be rhetorical questions, compelling statistics, humorous quotes, an image, a personal anecdote, or an analogy.
2. Focus your material. Today, people expect short speeches, so good speakers will write a focused message with a limited number of key points. Clarify your final message and organize your speech with three or four key points. Structure it with an opening, a body, and a closing. In the opening, tell them what you are going to tell them; in the body tell them; in closing, tell them what you told them.
3. Use transitions. Transitions are words and phrases that link and build on your key points. Examples include: Next, I’d like to talk about what’s going on with our competition; Now that we’ve talked about the competition, I’d like to explain our strategy. Transitions can also be as simple as: first, second, and finally. Speakers who use strong transition statements will create a flow that makes listening easier.
4. Make every word count. Great speakers are skillful wordsmiths. They prune dead wood from your speeches and presentations, simplify your sentences, and sharpen your sentences. They use easy-to-listen conversational language and avoid long-winded technical jargon.
5. Be less self-centered. The narcissistic speaker is more concerned with looking good and speaking to impress others than with providing valuable information that will resonate with listeners. Effective speakers shed their egos and speak from the heart with passion and warmth that energizes and motivates their audiences. This charisma transforms the speaker’s message into a memorable experience for listeners.
6. Create energy through your voice. A message comes from the heart and is memorable delivered with energy and emotion through voice and tone. A voice with a smile creates warmth and goodwill with your audience. However, your voice often reflects your emotional state and will reveal your anxiety and apprehension as you speak. Smoothing out an unpleasant, wavering voice requires awareness, vocal practice, and rehearsal. Start with good posture, deep breathing, and quality pronunciation. Then practice your volume, rhythm, pause, and pitch. Listen to your voice on the tape.
7. Light up. Every speech you make is an opportunity to share something insightful with your audience. Using a bit of humor, poking fun at yourself, or telling a personal story helps the audience identify with you as a genuine and compassionate person. Avoid the use of podiums or other barriers that distance you from the audience. Use open body language to create professional intimacy. If you’re having fun, your audience will pick up on your enthusiasm. They will remember your message. And they will remember and respect you.
