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BE A POWERFUl PUBlIC SPEAKER

Shiv Khera lists tips to become a powerful public speaker and presenter

Persuasion skills are essential to good leadership. It is one of the greatest components in public speaking and a great ability to influence, convince, negotiate, and sell. Who doesn’t need itIJ All of us sometime or the other have gone through a situation where we had to say a few words in public and we got cold feet. One is then looking for an excuse to get out of such a situation.

Some of the greatest public speakers were the greatest disasters when they started. The good news is that we can all learn to be effective public speakers. Making effective presentations is critical to success in life.

There biggest advantage of being a powerful speaker is that you are perceived as a leader and an expert in your field. Second, you can leverage your position effectively.

Public speaking comprises of the following three F’s — Flair in your presentation, Flow of structure to your presentation so that people lose track and Facts in order to gain credibility.

The following are some steps to being an effective public speaker.

• Clarify expectation in advance: Ask your hosts what is the ‘end result’ they are looking for, upon completion of your presentation. The clarity of end result would decide your contents.
• Do not make more than three points: less than three is too little, more than three are too much. Somehow three points stick. It is an odd number; odd numbers stick better then even numbers.
• Use simple language: Keep your presentation at sixth grade level. Use simple day-to-day words that can easily be understood. Don’t use jargon, slang or words difficult to understand. The idea is to express and not to impress.
• Be Yourself: Don’t pretend and put on a false mask. Just be honest and sincere. Being yourself doesn’t mean that you become casual. Being casual displays indifference or arrogance. People hate both.
• Go well prepared: Practice, practice, practice. There is no substitute to preparation. Audiences can tell, whether you have came prepared or not. An unprepared speaker wastes their audiences’ time. Audiences invest their time and come to listen to you out of trust. When trust is broken, they feel cheated. Remember, time is more precious than money.
• Have a strong opener:  WhyIJ How much time do you have to grab your audience’s attentionIJ About 30 seconds. If you have not got their attention within 30 seconds, you have lost them. Most powerful speakers have very strong openers.
• Have a strong close: Why are strong openers and closes crucial to a good presentationIJ Because they leave a lasting effect. Impressions stick in the mind whereas contents are lost.
• Always close with a ‘call to action’: Every speech must close with a very strong and specific call to action. A call to action makes you a leader, otherwise you are only an information provider. If your speech doesn’t end with a call to action, then you are only a loud speaker not a good public speaker.

The above are only few essentials of a good public speaker. Good public speaking needs a lot of practice. Just remember that some of the greatest masters, when they started, were the greatest disasters.

(The writer is an author, educator and entrepreneur)