The art of public speaking is both challenging and exciting. No one said it’s easy to please the crowd, or to persuade, motivate, and move them emotionally. It takes credibility to make your audience believe every bit of words of wisdom that you share.
I’m often asked: “what does it take to be a motivational speaker?”
Well, thought I’d share a few simple steps:
Be yourself
It helps to admire any of the famous public speakers, but never imitate everything about them. Create your own personality, and establish your own brand. Absorb the attitude, the manner of speaking, tone, quality and even the flow of thoughts. Make sure that you be yourself .
Confidence is the key to becoming good at your craft. Keep in mind that we are all made unique and the easiest path towards success is investing on our own identity. Create your own style!
Think, what you would want to hear from a leader
Behold the power of storytelling!
In creating a speech, storytelling is key – passionate, imaginative and insightful. Doing so will make the audience listening visualize what you’re talking about easily. Help them grasp the message and experience it as if they were in that particular situation. Keep your speech short and simple, and dish out the lesson as smoothly as possible. Catch your audience off guard, and leave them thinking about how they can apply the ideas you’ve shared.
Know when to stop
Silence is powerful. It can dramatically set up the mood, and push your listening audience into thinking and absorbing every bit of detail that you said. Use this to set momentum before dropping your final words.
Be authentic
Sincerity and honesty shine bright effortlessly, especially if they’re authentic. You can fake your gestures, facial expression and even your tone of voice, but never the feeling or emotion you convey in the words you say.
One tip to develop sincerity is by putting yourself in the place of your audience. Say what you mean, not just what they want to hear. You are in your position to motivate, inspire and take charge of the stage, connect with the people and connect with their heart.
Practice makes perfect. Well not really. Practice makes you better and you continue to perfect your craft and get better every day.