10 Things to Guarantee a Successful Speech

From our Guest Contributor from the US
by Tom Antion: to get more detailed material from contributors like Tom
click here

RESEARCH YOUR AUDIENCE

It amazes me how some speakers will show up for a speaking
engagement and really not know anything about the audience they
are speaking to. Many speakers just get lazy and feel that their
message is so important.

PRACTICE

The only way to look polished while speaking is to practice. This
is one skill you cannot delegate to anyone else. It is you that
is on stage with the microphone and it is you who will look
either great or terrible. You are sadly mistaken and egotistical
if you think the Powerpoint slides that either you or someone
else created will make you a dynamic speaker.

TAKE CARE OF HECKLERS

This is my famous asterisk technique I use to make sure hecklers
don't interrupt my presentation. I get people in the group to
identify potential trouble makers BEFORE I get to the event. I
phone these people and interview them to give them the attention
they are craving.

USE EMOTIONAL LANGUAGE

Boring old facts rarely move people to action. Learning to use
words that evoke emotions in people will make a much greater
impact when you speak. There are many emotions you can trigger in
the audience just by your choice of words. Happiness, anger,
sadness, nostalgia are just a few. You must pick the words that would mean something to
your audience.

REVEAL YOURSELF

Some people have trouble implementing this idea because they like
to remain aloof and private. This will hurt their chances of
making a good connection with people in the audience.

USE PROPS

A prop is worth a thousand words. People can really anchor a
thought in their minds when it is connected to an object that
relates to the point you are trying to make.

USE HUMOR

Even Shakespeare used humor in the middle of the tragedies he
wrote. Humor is a powerful and effective tool that gives the
audience's mind a chance to breath in the face of heavy material.
It also makes you more likable and fun to listen to. Humor is
also much more likely to make your information more memorable.

MOVE 'EM TO ACTION

If you are going to bother taking up people's time to speak to
them, don't you think it would be a good idea to get them to do
something positive because of your presentation? Even if they do
something negative, it's still better than doing nothing because
they will at least get a chance to learn something from their
mistake.

BRING SOLUTIONS

One of the best ways to make sure the audience loves you is to
bring solutions to their problems. If you have done a thorough
job of researching your audience, you already know what their
problems are. It's your job to bring ideas for them to try.

PAY ATTENTION TO LOGISTICS

All the best preparation, practice and audience research could be
ruined if you forget to pay attention to all the details
surrounding a presentation. You want to know what is happening
before you speak, and what is happening after you speak.