It is not uncommon for business owners to get invited to make presentations, participate in panel discussions or speak at conferences. Public speaking offers a lot of benefits. It is a public relationships opportunity because it increases your visibility online and off. It establishes your expertise in a particular field and it generates leads for your business, notes Ruth Sherman, entrepreneur, speech coach and author of Speakrets The 30 Best, Most Effective, Most Overlooked Marketing And Personal Branding Essentials (Norsemen Books). Her A- list roster of clients includes Morgan, Timex, Paramount, and Versace International.
What’s more, positive publicity as an expert leads to favorable positioning in the minds of customers and investors. Take for example TED talk (Technology Entertainment and Design), even if they only watched it online. TED was founded in 1984 and is now an annual series of global conferences. Certain speeches from TED talks endure long after they’re delivered.
[Related: 5 Ways To Improve Your Visibility As A Leader]
Still in all, not everyone is a great speaker, so, here are ten tips to help you deliver an engaging speech or presentation.
1. Book a gig first. Then worry about speech, advises Sherman. Meaning don’t focus on coming up with the speech first but try to identify a speaking opportunity. High profile people and celebrities will have booking agents and speaking bureaus. So, how do you go about getting a gig? A place to go would be business and trade associations, she suggests. “They are always looking for speakers for their break-out meetings. These are not paid speaking engagements but they are great places to show what you know, network and serve an interested audience.” Also check out local business clubs since most hold monthly meetings and many hosts online webinars.
2. Create the talk. Gather information into a content journal. This can be as simple document file in Word. Consider sharing stories about things that happened in your business or your industry or that happened to you, your clients, or to people you know. “You want your talk (speech) to be interspersed with storytelling,” Sherman says. Use humor. “You don’t have to be a comedian. But you want to be good humored about yourself. If you can tell a joke about a mistake you made and how you can now laugh about it will help to engage people even more.”
3. Practice and rehearse. “This means saying it out loud, because we all are eloquent in our heads. You may think that you have the same oratorical skills as Barak Obama. But give pause,” cautions Sherman. “It can happen if you practice and you have to practice more than you think. This is the biggest obstacle that people face because they see it as being boring and tedious. But you have to practice speaking in order to be good.”
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4. Shape your talking points. There is a lot of competition out there. There are other entrepreneurs in your business or industry. So, you have to find your niche. Meaning, what is the one opinion th
at you have that you are certain of that may be contrary to conventional thinking or wisdom, Sherman asks. “Certainty or a strong point of view will always win the day. Say you are in the beauty or haircare industry and your strong point of view is that a certain trend is going to be in style in three months. Back it up.”5. Do your homework. Know the audience and the venue. How many people are going to be in the audience? Who are they? Don’t use stories or humor that they can’t relate to or understand, advises Sherman. What is the seating style–is it theater seating which is rows of seats in aisles or in the round? “There are different things that you can do such as have them turn to a neighbor or to create an exercise or activity where people can interact with one another. Are you speaking during a meal or after a meal when there tends be a lot of noise. Also, there is a different vibe in the room if alcohol is being served.”
6. Make it interactive. This includes creating an audience exercise, sharing a story, showing an example, telling a joke. “You have to make people very engaged and very active. It is called infotainment. You have to care enough about your audience to keep them engaged,” adds Sherman. Don’t be stiff on stage standing behind a lectern and reading from podium reading from your script. “That puts a barrier between you and the audience whereas you want to be exposed. Oprah Winfrey is the great expert at tearing down the walls and letting people in.”
7. Prepare talking points. If you are serving on a panel, you want to make sure that you prepare two or three talking points that you wish to share with the audience during your part of the presentation. What do you want the audience to hear? What do you want them to know about you or your business? You may have 10 minutes total in time to speak when you are on a panel. But “speaking on a panel is a great way to get started; there is less pressure because the spotlight isn’t only on you and there are others on that stage. It is a great way to stand out and get your feet wet,” says Sherman.
8. Don’t apologize. “There is not room for sorries,” Sherman says. “if you make a mistake. If you forget something or you stumble over a word it is okay. If you trip or drop your notes or spill a glass of water. Don’t apologize. People expect you to be human,” she explains. “They don’t expect a talk that is riddled with errors or see that you are uncomfortable. You can always say you missed something that you wish to return to or go back and go over.”
9. Mind your non-verbal communications. Your body language has to be solid. You have to look and sound like the expert that you are. “Too many people are concerned about not being authentic if they move their arms a certain way or if their tone of voice is a certain way,” Sherman says. “Authenticity is often mis-characterized. I don’t care how you feel I only care about how you look and sound. If you come across authoritative, the audience will believe you are the expert that you say they are. Project confidence even if you don’t feel confident.” Walk that stage and command that stage.
10. Rate your performance. Sherman says that a test of how well you did is whether or not people are gathering around to talk to you and exchange business once your speech is done. “People will wait patiently in line, or, they will seek you out during the conference as well as outside of the conference.” Giving a talk is like giving a performance.