The 5-Step Recipe for Speaking Success

Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey top the list of the Most Admired Women in America. The Former First Lady and the billionaire media mogul, who ranked #1 and #2 in the 2018 Gallup poll, are powerful speakers. And these ladies share a speaking style that you can use to build your influence and stand out as a presenter.

The Obama-Oprah speaking recipe can take your presentations from good to great. If you master the five-step recipe, you’ll become a more influential, impressive and entertaining presenter. To follow their recipe for speaking success, you need to:

Step 1: Be Authentic – Bring your “off-stage” personality on stage. Your audience wants to see you at your best. If you like to smile and tell jokes with your friends, look for ways to get a smile and a few laughs from your audience. You’re most appealing when you’re being yourself.

Step 2: Connect – Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey connect with audiences because they talk about topics we can relate to. When you speak, point out how your message impacts or is relevant to your listeners.

Step 3: Be Conversational – Deliver your message like you’re having a conversation with one person. Ask questions, make lots of eye contact and check-in to see if you’re being understood.

Step 4: Tell Stories – Share personal and professional stories about you that reveal the lessons you’ve learned the hard way. Show your audience your flaws, failures, firsts and frustrations.

Step 5: Have Fun – Speak with energy and enthusiasm. All eyes are on you. If you’re not having fun, no one else will.

For more ways to win over an audience like a superstar, like my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BetterSpeakingSkills)

3 Ways to Pull in Your Listeners

You want them to like you, listen and hang on to your words. Don’t you? But you have to work for that kind of loyalty. What can you do to pull your audience into your presentation and keep them deeply involved in what you’re saying? Give them a chance to laugh, learn and be entertained.

When you’re working on your next presentation, make sure you mix up your delivery by:

1. Changing Your Voice – Change the speed and volume of your voice to keep your message interesting. Talk faster, to build excitement. Slow down to emphasize a key point. Use different voices to make characters in your stories distinctive. For example, you may use a deeper, louder voice for an old man and a higher, softer voice for a young girl.

2. Involving Everybody – Don’t do all the talking. Include your audience in your presentation by asking questions, telling stories and adding audience activities that keep your listeners physically and mentally involved.

3. Reliving Your Stories – Bring your stories alive with action. Don’t retell a story—using “he said” or “she said”—relive the story. Recreate a conversation between two or more characters and make each person distinctive. Use different facial expressions, voices, gestures and body language for each character. Give your audience ring-side seats to the action!

For more ways to pump energy, enthusiasm and engagement into your audience, like my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BetterSpeakingSkills)

Do You Carry Mental Baggage?

How much mental baggage do you drag into your sales or business presentations? Do you pull pounds of doubt or lack of confidence into your mindset? Think about these questions. If you are not sure of yourself, self-doubt will be reflected in your body language; and the power and passion of your words.

But there are three things you can do to kick negative mental baggage to the curb. Just take these steps to overhaul a power-less mindset and replace it with an empowering mindset:

1. Free Yourself – Free your mind of messages that don’t build your confidence. Stop saying these things: “People will judge me”; “I must be perfect”; “I hope I don’t blow this opportunity”!

2. Erase the Past – If you did not do a good job the last time you gave a presentation. Let that experience die. Don’t revive it. You can always learn from your mistakes. You don’t have to relive and repeat them.

3. Follow the “IPAR” Recipe – IDENTIFY one presentation skill you want to improve. PRACTICE that skill every time you speak. ASK for feedback from a coach, mentor or someone who excels in the area you want to strengthen. REFINE that skill, based on the feedback you received. Speaking is a skill that gets better with practice!

Speaking success begins in your mind. For more mental mastery tips, like my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BetterSpeakingSkills)

Are You a Lion, Turtle or a Rabbit Speaker?

What animal do you most resemble when you’re making a speech? Are you a lion, a turtle or a rabbit? If you’re confident, you’re like a lion. If you’re in control, you’re like a turtle. And if you get to the point quickly, you’re like a rabbit.

The best speakers have the confidence of a lion, the control of a turtle and the concise delivery of a rabbit. Here’s how you can add the three C’s of powerful presenters—confidence, control, and concise delivery—to your next presentation:

• Look Like a Lion – Your body language reflects your confidence level. To scream “confidence”, stand up straight with your weight evenly distributed on both feet. Look at your audience, smile, and speak with calm confidence!

• Control the Discussion – When you’re a presenter, there’s no time to hide in your turtle shell. You’re the front man/woman, the discussion leader. Ask for audience interaction, answer questions, but keep the group on your message. You get the first and last word on your topic!

• Get to the Point…Swiftly – Rabbits are quick, efficient and precise. No wasted energy. Always go for a simple word or shorter sentence. You’re speaking to be understood, not to impress everybody with your big vocabulary. Say “later,” instead of “at a later date”. Or use “occasionally,” instead of “from time to time”.

What animal do you most resemble when you’re making a speech? Borrow from all three if you want to raise your speaking skills to the next level!

For more ways to be concise, confident and in control while presenting, like my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BetterSpeakingSkills)

3 Ways to Get Your Audience to Take Action

After you finish your presentation, what do you want your audience to do? If you’ve done your job, they should have something new—a different perspective, new ideas or a valuable tool/solution.

How can you get your audience to take action? It starts before you stand up to talk. Before you prepare your presentation, ask yourself this question: “What do I want my audience to think, feel or do differently at the end of my talk?” The answer to this question drives your content, delivery and results. Craft your presentation so that you are constantly giving your audience incentives to act on your message. That means, you should:

1. Lay the groundwork for “yes”.
2. Focus on benefits, from beginning to end.
3. Give your audience a clear path, only one specific next step.

1. Lay the groundwork for “yes”: From beginning to end, look for ways to find common ground with your audience. When you get nods, smiles and agreement early, it’s easier to get your audience to buy into your point of view at the end.

2. Focus on benefits: Let your audience see how they can gain (what’s in it for them) from your message. All throughout your talk, point out the advantages and benefits they’ll reap from adopting your viewpoint, project, product or service.

3. Only one next step: Ask your audience to take one clearly-defined action to move them closer to a solution to their problems. Recommend a specific step they should take (call, email or text—not all three). Make it easy for your listeners to implement your call to action!

For more ways to make your next audience more likely to act on your message, like my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BetterSpeakingSkills) 

What Does Your Body Language Say?

When you give a business presentation, you are seen as a leader or an expert. Does your body language keep that image alive in the eyes of your audience?

Your face and hands play a big role in sending your audience the right message. Your body language speaks louder than your words. Your body language—your dress, posture and body movements—account for 55 percent of your credibility with your audience.

Don’t you start sizing up a new person before they open their mouth? So does your audience! They are looking at your face—your eyes and mouth—and your hands. To make sure you are coming across as a leader and an expert presenter, follow these four body language rules:

1. Memorize your opening and closing remarks so you can make eye contact with your audience. People don’t trust speakers who don’t look at them.

2. Start your presentation with a smile. It says “I want to connect with you” and “I’m friendly.”

3. Keep your hands at your sides until you want to make a gesture that helps explain what you’re saying. Then return your hands and arms to your sides.

4. But please DO NOT move your hands to these places:

• Behind your back (you’re saying, “I really don’t want to connect with you”),
• On your hips (you’re saying, “I’m more important than you”) or 
• In the fig leaf position (your hands are covering your private parts for protection, because you feel threatened). 

Use your hands and face to send the message that you have valuable information to share with your audience to help them solve a problem, make more money or grow their business. The next time you give a presentation, make sure your words, hands and face are connecting with your audience and sending the same message!

For more ways to make your body language boost your image, like my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BetterSpeakingSkills/

Don't Let Your Mind Mess You Up!

Your mindset determines your success or failure in life and in business presentations. If you think you’re nervous, afraid or going to forget a key point, you probably will. But you don’t have to let your mind mess up your presentation. Here are some things you can do to outsmart those limiting beliefs:

FEAR
• Gain vs. Pain – If the thought of giving a group presentation fills you with doubt and fear, change your focus. Think about what you’ll gain from this experience: prestige, respect, promotion, new clients.

• Audience vs. You – The only reason you’re giving a presentation is because you have valuable information. Focus on how you can help your audience, not on how you think they will respond to you. It’s not about you, it’s about the people looking to you for information, advice or a solution.

NERVOUSNESS
• Butterflies – If your stomach is overrun with butterflies before a presentation, give them a new name. Think of the butterflies as the adrenaline rush you need to wow your audience. Your body is getting you pumped up for a great performance.

• Enthusiasm – Don’t tell yourself you’re nervous. Tell yourself that you’re excited. Rename your nervous energy and call it ENTHUSIASM!

FORGETFULNESS 
• Pause – If you have a brain freeze during a presentation, pause, glance at your notes and remember, no one knows every word you wanted to say!

• Adjust – You’ve just forgotten a key point. Don’t apologize to the audience, make a quick recovery and move on. If you remember the point later, just insert it then. You can adjust like this, “There’s one more thing I want to add…” Forgetting is not a felony. It’s not even a crime!

For more ways to overcome fear, nerves or memory lapses, like my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BetterSpeakingSkills/)