While it continually ranks in the Top 10 fears most people have in life, giving a talk to a crowd is actually a fun and learnable skill that can pay many dividends. I’m not advocating that you have to be a pro speaker addressing thousands of people at a time, but in the early stages, an effective communicator that employs public speaking to enhance all areas of your personal and business life.
Here are just a few reasons why speaking can be such an effective way to market and build your business:
*It adds massive credibility as you are instantly positioned as the expert
*There are many groups in continual need of new information and presenters for their members
*It’s an effective venue to teach and share by giving great information of value
*You get to speak with several people at once versus one-on-one
*You never know who’ll be in the audience that may either need or know someone who can benefit by your message/product/service
Here’s my Top 10 List of Ways to Help You Give a Great Talk
#1. Watch other speakers
#2. Get into a group(s) that will give you feedback
#3. Practice, practice, practice
#4. Use an outline to guide you
#5. Employ stories and avoid death by bullet points if you use PowerPoint
#6. Be authentic and reveal yourself
#7. Use pictures and video clips (keep them short)
#8. Use movement to keep people engaged
#9. If possible, use humor (practice) to build a bridge
#10. Open strong and finish strong
What are a few resources to help me get started right away?
There are several groups that can help you improve your communication, and in particular, public speaking skills. They include: Toastmasters International, Dale Carnegie training, BNI (Business Network International) and your local chamber of commerce. In addition, I also recommend the book Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds.
I also mentioned these groups because almost every community around the world has one or more of these groups from which to explore and check out. Again, find a group(s) that you feel comfortable with and get started.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s article which focused on how to build authenticity into your promotions via the power of public speaking. In next week’s eletter we’ll turn our attention on proven ways to get more of your ideas implemented faster than you might have ever thought possible.
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