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Ask and ye shall receive
Often, when you need to make a speech, it is to ask something of your audience. Sometimes you want to ask for their time, sometimes their money, sometimes you want information.
What to do if they aren't listening?
Have you ever done a speech or presentation and while you were speaking, certain people started to look at their watch, others were yawning enough to swallow an elephant, and still others — horror! — were actually sleeping?
Presidential lessons
This week I had the opportunity of hearing former U.S. President Bill Clinton speak. He gave a great, uplifting speech and he was a pleasure to watch.
Before he began his speech, Mr. Clinton took a few moments to remind us of some of the tenets of modern day public speaking. I think they deserve mention here.
Welcome stage fright, eliminate anxiety
Your hands are shaking. You are sweating profusely. Your mouth is dry. You think you'll never be able to make it.
Building a speech
Before understanding how to prepare an effective speech, I often had difficulty structuring and presenting what I wanted to say. I had a plan in mind, I had an idea of where I wanted to go, but that was about it. I ended up acting the fool in front, everyone laughed but they learned little from my speeches.
With time and practice, I developed certain techniques that I use whenever I prepare a speech or presentation. In the next three newsletters, I will share these techniques with you.
The Power of Silence
During a debate for the 2001 mayorship race of Montreal, Pierre Bourque, the favoured candidate, asked a question of his opponent, Gérald Tremblay. Mr. Tremblay, taken aback, took 16 seconds to respond.
Connect every time
If you truly want to reach your audience, you must be able to tap into their emotions. Delivering reams and reams of data will bore your audience to tears, so you must use something else.
The easiest way to convey emotion in a speech is an often overlooked technique: tell a story. If you've ever heard good professional speakers, you know they use this technique all the time.
Is your self-esteem affecting your leadership?
Leadership is as much about skills as it is about emotions. You can easily learn all the notions necessary to make you an effective leader by taking courses and by reading books. However, knowing them and applying them are two different things.
Asking Without Feeling Guilty
Have you ever felt anxious about asking for something, when deep down you felt you had earned it or that you deserved it? This is not an uncommon situation. Many of us fear asking. We fear asking for help, we fear asking for a raise, we fear asking for money, we fear asking someone out, and so on.