Become a Better Speaker by Remembering the Basics

become a better speakerA recent blog on this website illuminated the dangers of not using humor in your professional speaking presentation, but hitting a funny bone now and then is not the only way to become a better speaker. Here are some other critical areas to pay attention to.

1. Overuse of PowerPoint: PowerPoint is a great tool. Wonderful, really, when used appropriately. Unfortunately, we’ve seen too many times when it isn’t and we’d rather pluck out our own eyes than sit through an hour’s worth of somebody flipping slide after mindless slide in front of us. Use this software judiciously. And don’t print out 100 pages of graphics of your slides and give them to us as handouts either.

2. Audience participation: Rare is the speaker who can carry the whole show without any input from the audience. The very best speakers on the circuit realize it’s audience participation that drives the whole thing. Seriously. And don’t act like questions are stupid or you’ll turn everyone against you.

3. Use your own style: Tony Robbins delivery works best for Tony Robbins. Dale Carnegie’s delivery works for one person – Dale Carnegie. The same goes for you. You’re not going to become a world beater by stealing chops from someone else. Develop your own style. Trust us. It’s for the best.

A last piece of general advice is to use the damn sound system! That’s why there put it there for. You may think you have extraordinarily loud speaking voice – and maybe you do – but learn to work the microphone like a pro so everyone in the room can hear you. If they can’t, what’s the point of even being there?

The Speaking of Wealth Team