Public Speaking to Stand Out
For leaders looking to stand out in their field, public speaking is becoming more important than ever.
You’re not the first to realize that, and neither are we. Take a quick look around and you’ll see that just about everyone is claiming to be a public speaker these days. Take a slightly longer look, and you’ll realize that they’re not all created equal.
Have You Ever Witnessed a Public Speaking Disaster?
Think back to the last several presentations you’ve been at. How many have genuinely opened your mind, given you new tools and resources that you can put to work immediately, or provided you with a better way to look at what’s happening in your business or your life? How many have you left wondering how you could get that time back?
Or perhaps you’ve lived with the struggle of inviting a speaker to attend your event only to have them let you down with a flat delivery, a blatant infomercial, or a talk that started and ended, well … nowhere.
Here’s something to think about: 30,000,000 presentations are given every day around the world. Every. Day. With more and more people promising “Six-figure income public speaking” careers and other get-rich-quick schemes based on standing on a stage, it’s more important than ever to stand out—for the right reasons.
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This is something we care about deeply. We have an entire team of experienced public speakers. What sets them apart isn’t just that they’ve been doing it for years, it’s about HOW they go about doing it. It’s about how to inform, inspire, and invigorate your audience.
Public speaking is a rare opportunity to differentiate yourself and your organization. It’s an opportunity to tell your story, to help people understand what makes you special and how you help others. Public speaking done well helps those you serve deeply connect to what you do and how you make a difference in the world.
Getting to the Heart of Effective Public Speaking
To do that, you don’t need a formula—you need something more. The last thing you want is to simply sound like others. This is your chance to genuinely stand out, to build your brand, promote your mission, and establish yourself as a true authority. To do that there are five things you need to get right.
Understand Yourself—Fundamentally, if you don’t truly know yourself, you will never build a genuine connection with your audience. So many clients have sat with us and said that they just don’t know how to become those other speakers who are so dynamic and energetic. Our message to them: Don’t. What we each need to learn is to be more authentically ourselves. To play to your own strengths, not to the strengths of others. As you do, you will build much more honest and powerful relationships with your audience.
Master the Basics—It’s amazing how often speakers want to skip the basics so they can move to what they feel are the more exciting elements of public speaking. But the speakers who succeed are the ones who not only know the basics, but have committed to focusing on mastering the basics. What are they? At their essence, the basics require that you be connected, clear, concise, and compelling. If you lose these, you lose your audience.
Start Strong—Attention spans are slipping. Some of the latest research suggests that even goldfish have longer attention spans than most people so leading in a clear and powerful manner is essential. Most people are willing to give you their attention, if what you have to share is valuable. But if it’s not communicated in a way that they can clearly see the value, you’ll lose them right away.
Close with Purpose—A strong start with a weak close won’t do much to propel your brand, your organization, or your credibility. Get clear in your mind about what EXACTLY you want people to do next and why it will help them. The goal of public speaking is to encourage and compel action. Making that happen is up to you, and a clear, solid closing message is essential.
Handle Yourself Like a Pro—The final thing we would encourage you to focus on is handling yourself like a professional. Even when speakers have a compelling message, they often diminish the value of that message by mishandling themselves either in the lead up to the event, during the time on stage, or afterwards when fielding questions. You can see who’s prepared and who’s not. You can remember those whose on stage presence started to feel as uncomfortable for you as it did for them. Even before you speak your first word, you presence, your experience, and your gravitas should be speaking clearly.
By now you already know that public speaking is a key element when it comes to standing out. Getting it right means committing to mastering the fundamentals. Set yourself apart, own the room, and help people understand why they should listen to you deeply.
If you’re looking for more support or to draw on the resources of our team with it comes to Public Speaking, take a look at how we help.
“I think we all get in to business to make a difference. We want to do something meaningful. We want to support our communities, our families, or help others.” Trefor is a trained and certified professional business coach and has a Masters in Communications. He works with the leaders who know that their organizations have the capacity to deliver more but are simply not yet performing at their potential. His training in communications and ongoing study of human behaviour make him a sought after Coach, Public Speaker and author. Trefor is also one of a handful of Canadians to win a Webby Award — the Oscars of the Internet.
