 Whether you want to get business from speaking or you want to impress management, the #1 essential when giving a presentation is your passion about three things: your topic, the audience, and your presentation skills.
Galileo is credited as saying "Passion, the genesis of genius." How true! Passion is a driving force and it's the essential foundation for being a confident and persuasive speaker.
When you think about passion in a presentation, you normally and generally think of only being passionate about your topic, but your topic is only one piece of a three prong approach. Each one of the three is vitally important. And being passionate about each one builds upon the other.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” “Enthusiasm” derives from the ancient Greek word, “enthousiasme,” which ultimately comes from the adjective, “entheos” meaning God within. When you are enthused about something or passionate about something, it’s really a “God thing.” It’s something that inspires you and that translates to your audience.
Steve Jobs was passionate about technology; and, you could say that he was even more passionate about how technology could impact and alter people’s lives. Real impact comes from being passionate about the difference you are making for people.
You can easily see that passion is a driving force. Passion about your topic will drive you to develop valuable content that’s relevant and interesting. Passion causes you to strive for more, to be better, to improve. Passion about your topic will cause you to have the best content you can have, to prepare in advance and to practice. Let’s face it, without passion, without caring, you’ll wing it and that would not be a good idea! Rambling and not staying focused are hallmarks of winging it. This pours water on your passion.
Being passionate about the difference and the value you are providing for your audience is a hallmark for confident speakers. It’s key then to be passionate about your topic and your audience and to use that passion to prepare. When preparing a presentation, ask yourself these questions: How will my presentation alter the lives of my audience? How will it make their lives better? What value will it provide for them? What does the audience want? What need am I going to fill for them?
Once you have answered these questions, make those answers your objective – to meet the needs and wants of the audience. Share your objective with your audience in your introduction and in your close. And, if you don’t know what they want or need, you’d better find out. Develop a passion for your audience and let it drive you to give them value. They will love you for it. This quote by Luciano Pavarotti sums it up perfectly, “Some singers want the audience to love them. I love the audience.”
The more that you work on your presentation and what your audience wants, the more inspired you will become which will feed your passion. And look at what it is about your topic that really inspires you. That inspiration is what you want to convey to your audience. Inspiration and passion go hand in hand.
Thirdly, by being passionate about improving your speaking skills, you will naturally become a more confident speaker. We are unlimited in our ability to improve, to get better, because each of us is a creative being. We can always add to. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to grow and create and to become more skilled, getting better and better.
Top athletes and musicians continue to improve because they are passionate about their craft, they are passionate about their art, and so they continually work to improve their skills even though they are already at the top! Being passionate about improving your speaking skills means learning, practicing and reviewing the fundamentals of effective presentation skills. The fundamentals include knowledge (power) about your topic, audience and speaking skills (like how to connect with your audience), preparation, and practice. And, now you have the 4 P’s: Passion, Power (Knowledge), Preparation, and Practice.
When you begin with passion about your topic, audience, and speaking skills, you lay a solid foundation from which to build your confidence and master your skills.
 For some people, no matter what they try, they can't seem to get past their fear of public speaking. There are several things that *should* reduce and even eliminate nervousness and anxiety. These are: - Preparing in advance (huge help to reduce fear)
- Practicing your presentation (you can never practice too much!!)
- Giving your presentation to different groups so that you become so familiar with it, you don't need any notes or slides
- Taking the focus off of you and focusing on the value that you are providing (it's not about you - it's about the audience)
- Believing in the value you are providing
- Authentically loving/appreciating your audience
- Allowing yourself to make mistakes
- Breathing, exercising, meditating - get out of your head and into your body. Meditation is a physical activity not a mental one so much because you focus on your breathing to get into a relaxed state.
Although the methods on this list are highly effective for reducing and eliminating anxiety, they simply don't help people who feel powerless to stop stressing about speaking. These type of people are still focused on themselves, and can't seem to shift that focus no matter what. Stress about speaking is not anything external; it's all internal. Anxiety is mostly a product of the mind. Therefore, the focus is inward and the thoughts are actually causing the stress. But, knowing this, for some people, doesn't make any difference. These type of people feel powerless to change.In these extreme and probably common cases, there are alternative methods for eliminating any anxiety which may stem from a childhood incident/decision (or a past life!) or could be because of health issues (as viewed by acupuncturists). I have heard some people say that they take drugs or supplements to calm their nerves. I do not advocate masking anxiety with drugs or supplements, at least not as a permanent solution. Why do that when you can eliminate the issue all together and become healthier in the process? Healthy alternative and effective methods include:- Acupuncture - In a recent workshop, an attendee shared that she had received an unexpected benefit from acupuncture, the freedom from a lifelong anxiety problem. This was interesting news to me. In the past, I had several acupuncture sessions for arm pain from a fall and found that the acupuncture cleared up other health issues that I had. So, I was pleasantly surprised to hear about acupuncture clearing up anxiety as an unintended result. I did a little research and found an interesting article specifically about acupuncture treatment for anxiety: www.acupuncture.com/newsletters/m_july10/anxiety.htm. In the article, they explain that anxiety is a result of energy that is blocked in certain organs and that well-being is a by-product of freedom from energy blocks. If you are in Houston, I highly recommend my acupuncturist, David Trevino. David can be reached at the Acupuncture & Nutrition Clinic. His website is www.acupunctureandnutritionclinic.com. You may think this is strange, but I found acupuncture to be one of the most relaxing therapies I have ever experienced.
- Hypnosis - Michael Yeager, a certified clinical hypnotherapist who attended one of my workshops in Houston, shared with us that fear of public speaking could be eliminated in 1-3 hypnosis sessions. My understanding about hypnosis is that it's similar to meditation at the start where you are taken through a series of breathing and visualization exercises to relax you. Then you are taken into the highly suggestive hypnotic state. I have never been hypnotized before so I can't say with experience how effective it is. However, Michael Yeager, is a nationally known and respected holistic healthcare practitioner whom I trust. I believe Michael wholeheartedly that hypnosis could be an excellent way to overcome anxiety. Michael has several acronyms after his name! You can find more info about Michael at his website: www.contemporaryteaching.com.
- Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping) - EFT is a relatively new therapy that is similar to acupuncture in that you are tapping on certain points on your hands, face and head. I have used EFT and found it to be effective in dealing with worry. However, I am impatient and don't like doing the work. I would rather do acupuncture because someone else does the work and I can just relax!! But, if you want to try something yourself, EFT can be a great alternative method. You'll find demonstrations of EFT on YouTube. Just do a search for "EFT for Anxiety."
- The Landmark Forum (www.landmarkeducation.com) - Landmark Education offers the most incredible training I have ever experienced. There 3-day introductory course, The Landmark Forum, covers several distinctions relative to the study of "being." I have witnessed shy people became easily self-expressed by the end of the 3 days, where they are up front at the microphone authentically sharing about their lives. In particular, they share how, before they took the course, they would have never gotten in front of a group to share. The Landmark Forum promises to free you of the restraints of the past and open up new possibilities in your life where they have not existed before. As a veteran student of their programs and seminars, I can attest to the incredible transformation I have experienced in my abilities to communicate authentically, connect with people, and live pretty much drama-free. (I was a drama queen in my 20's - I didn't even know it at the time - Ha!)
- Essential oils therapy - I have recently begun using essential oils for everyday problems. For example, lavender oil for mosquito and ant bites, burns, bruises, and headaches. It's amazing stuff! I have learned that there are essential oils for just about every health problem. I don't understand how they work, but I have never quite understood how electricity works either. In doing a little bit of research, I have found that there are 12 different essential oils for anxiety and of course lavender is on the list. Just smelling these wonderful oils, can reduce anxiety - of course smelling something means taking a deep breath which is relaxing.
- Fitness and nutrition - Too much caffeine and sugar can easily exacerbate anxiety issues. A fitness and nutrition program can benefit anyone, especially someone who is worried and anxious about speaking. Simple things like eating healthier, getting adequate and restful sleep at night, drinking more water, and exercising regularly can help bring about a healthier you and a confident speaker. There are a lot of fitness and nutrition programs out there. You'll know which one is right for you by finding the one that you feel you can and will commit to!
- The Rubber Band - When I was going through a stressful time of my life (a divorce after 15 years of marriage), I read about a method to help me stop thinking about things that caused me grief and to think of something that gave me a feeling a peace. The method involved wearing a rubber band on my wrist and every time I had a grief-causing thought, to snap the rubber band and then visualize a peaceful, joyful time in my life. This action trained me to stop thinking about things that caused me unhappiness and anxiety. It worked because I was committed to being happy.
The key is to know what you want and isn't that to be happy, healthy, peaceful and joyful?To learn more about how to become a confident, in-demand speaker, please visit www.speakupstandoutconnect.com/success and learn about my value packed online course.
On my webinar this week, I shared a cool road map of the 4 things to do to become a confident, in-demand speaker. Those 4 things are:
- Improve your speaker skills
- Create/have a website with key components
- Start speaking (a must in order to get asked/paid to speak!)
- Start blogging and posting
The underlying foundation encompasses 3 things: speaking skill, creating value, and getting known. Using this road map will bring you new clients and speaking engagements without even trying. Why? Because when you provide value to people, they will want to do business with you. By blogging and posting valuable content on Facebook (one billion users), LinkedIn (151 million) and Twitter (500 milion), you are reaching hundreds of thousands of people. The numbers are in your favor.
In my online course, I provide the road map and details on how to implement everything in 4 modules that contain slides/audio and downloadable handouts.- Mastering Public Speaking (what you need to know about becoming an engaging speaker);
- What you must include on your website and how to create one for free using weebly.
- How to create your own workshops/webinars/teleseminars and get started speaking (a must for becoming known)
- Successful blogging and posting that positions you as the expert and gets you new clients. (how to do this efficiently and effectively - I show you how to connect those dots)
How would it feel to be asked (and paid) to speak? Would you like to have someone show you the way, what to do, in what order and make it simple and easy? In this course, you are fully supported and everything is online. You can start and stop at your own pace. Are you ready to become a confident, in-demand speaker? Sign up here to get started today: www.SpeakUpStandOutConnect.com/success.p.s. You'll love that you get lots of bonuses, including a live Q&A call and private Facebook group! Visit here to see all that you get and if you have any questions, please email me at pam @ pamterry.com.
 How has your New Year been so far? Don't worry if you haven't gotten your plans finalized and if you have bravo to you! If you don't quite have your plan finalized, join me next Tuesday for a free webinar.How would it feel to have a road map that would have you on your way to becoming the in-demand speaker you want to be? I have spent the last year and a half creating my speaker coaching business, and became an in-demand speaker in the process. I have figured it all out and want to share it with you.Do you need help in determining what to do, when and where to do it and why? I find that the hardest thing that most people face is how to sort through all the variety of options and select what to do first, second and third. The challenge is that we have too many options, too many directions to choose from. When I started my business, I found the 5 most important things to do that brought the best and fastest results.Join me for this free webinar that will show you how to become an in-demand speaker. This webinar is for you whether you want to get paid to speak or get business from speaking. Click here to reserve your spot for the webinar. We have one hour so it will be value packed.
If you want to gain more in-depth knowledge, be sure to sign up for my online course at www.SpeakUpStandUpConnect.com that starts January 12, 2013.
 The Winter Blog Challenge has just begun. Are you ready to create some excellent blog posts?Blogging is a incredible way to bolster your expertise and your brand. I want to invite you to participate in the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I have signed up for the first time this year and have seen benefits already.
It's more important than ever to have some control and be seen as an expert. With your own blog, you are in control of your own broadcasting system. Plus, regular blogging gives you more information to re-purpose.
Have you neglected your blog? It's easy to do. With the Ultimate Blog Challenge, you'll receive ideas on what to blog about and you will actually increase traffic to your blog, Facebook fan page, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn.Here are some quick tips on how to make the most out of the Blog Challenge:1. Sign up at www.ultimateblogchallenge.com, download the checklist, the free report and create your profile. Then start blogging. You'll get ideas for what to blog and post and you'll start seeing more traffic to your website and blog. The benefits? Make new connections, interactions, increase your traffic, fan and client base.
2. Follow the plan developed by the contest. Enhance the plan with ideas you come up with. 3. Share a video related to your industry and comment about it. This is a quick and short blog post that can draw lots of attention and potentially new fans and connections to Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. (Cardinal Rule: always share your blog posts to your groups and pages on your social media sites.)
4. Interact. Tweet about your posts and look for #blogboost and retweet their tweets. Post on other challengers blogs. You'll find more people coming to your blog and doing the same.
5. Commit to blogging every day. This will improve your skill, create lots of content and more traffic. Let me know how you're doing with it. What new ideas came to you? How have you benefited and impacted others? I would love to hear from you.
Want to learn how to add blogging into your speaker strategy? Whether you want to get paid speaking engagements or get hired from speaking, learn the step-by-step instructions in my online course that starts January 12. Click here to sign up www.SpeakUpStandOutConnect.com.
Fear of public speaking can happen to anyone. While Katherine Heigl acknowledges her fear, she was noticeably nervous as she gave a keynote speech honoring Shirley MacLaine. She is using courage and faith to get her through. You can also tell that she has prepared and practiced. Where is this nervousness coming from? It's all in her head (which is where all nervousness comes from)!! She is super excited though and speaking from her heart. She looks great and gets a few laughs - I laughed too. You can reduce 75% of your anxiety of speaking by preparing and practicing. Other than that, do things to get out of your head - take the focus off of you - it's not about you anyway. Your talk is about the person(s) in the audience. Focus on the value you are providing and the difference you are making. Take deep breaths (not to many - you don't want to make yourself dizzy). To learn more about getting over fear of public speaking and how to become a confident & compelling speaker in 30 days or less, sign up for my upcoming online speaker course at http://www.SpeakUpStandOutConnect.com. Reserve your seat now - the first class starts January 12, 2013.
I was recently asked to do a 10 minute keynote two days before an event, an awards ceremony. I really did not have the time to prepare anything, but I wanted to do it because of who asked me and who was getting the award. I was honored to be asked. Thanks to technology, I was able to start preparing my speech while driving, with earbuds connected to my phone (an HTC Sensation) and record my thoughts using "Evernote." I was able to use one of the key secrets to a great speech - passion - to begin practicing. I poured my heart out about this person, what she means to me and how she has impacted my life and others.
Then the day of the event - about a couple of hours before I had to leave I did a little research on how to prepare a speech about someone so that I didn't have to think about it. Then I listened to my recording from the other day, transcribed it, reviewed my notes and rearranged what I said, adding a few things and voila my presentation was almost done.
Almost done, because practice is an integral part of preparing. I did one quick run through and then when I got to the event, I stayed in the car and did a run through again. I was ready. A little nervous because I didn't get to spend as much time preparing as I liked, but still I felt somewhat prepared.
When it came time to do my keynote, I used my notes, some, just as a guide and spoke from my heart. When the award recipient came up and spoke, she said I was so great, she wanted to take me on tour with her!! Wow, I was so appreciative of her remark. It just goes to show you that, you can do a great job with some skill, a little preparation and a lot of heart.
I consider public speaking to fall into two categories – those who do public speaking as their primary business, as in motivational speakers and trainers, and corporate employees who speak about their area of expertise. Both speakers need to and can get new clients and referrals from their speaking engagements.
In fact, public speaking is one of the best ways to get new clients. Here’s why: public speaking positions you as the expert and everyone in the room gets to meet, know, and trust you. You have an incredible opportunity to build relationships with all the attendees and wow them with the value you can provide to them. And “to them” is the KEY thing. It’s not about you – it’s all about them and the value they get. The more value you provide, the more trust you build.
In this article, I am focusing on how to get leads from a speaking engagement for any type of speaker. Here are 3 steps to successfully get new clients from public speaking: 1. Know your audience 2. Deliver valuable content that they want 3. Have a structure for new clients to easily do business with you
There are a variety of ways to do each of the 3 steps. Here is bite-size summary of each:
Know Your Audience
Depending on the type of speaking engagement, you can do a few things to really understand what your audience wants. By accomplishing this important step, you can successfully accomplish step 2. If you are invited to speak to a group and in your excitement of accepting, you fail to find out why you've been asked to speak, go back and ask. Ask about the audience and what sort of outcome is wanted. Ask: Why do they want the topic and what are their expectations?
I had a coaching client who was invited to speak to some high school students about going to college. When I asked her questions about the students, such as, what grade are they in and anything in particular about them and the school, she didn't know. I suggested that she call back and find out about the students, to get as much information as she could.
She found out that this was a school of mostly low income students who never went to college in general. Essentially, the students were struggling to live. She ended up setting up a counseling program with the school for the students. The speaking engagement was completely scratched at least for the time being and the real needs of the students were being addressed.
In some cases, what your audience wants is pretty clear. The whole point is for you to be clear as possible about what they want. That is your starting point, your step one so that step two will be a cakewalk.
Deliver Valuable Content
A big don’t: never try to sell in your presentation. Who likes feeling like they are being sold to? Your mission in getting new business is always to deliver valuable content. Your speaking engagement is your opportunity to shine a light on your valuable expertise and how it can help people. It really isn't about you. It’s about the difference you can make for people.
There are several ways to deliver valuable content:
1. Share stories to illustrate your point, but be careful not to tell how your product or service helped someone (unless you are doing a product demonstration which is something completely different). Take YOU out of it. In my case, I share stories about the anxiety that experienced and inexperienced speakers have and various ways that they can overcome that anxiety. I give them the actual tips and resources to do so. The exception to this is to share how your tips helped someone. You can share a real life example of how someone used your suggestion/teaching and what they said the outcome was for them. Just be careful to ensure that you are focused on the benefit achieved.
2. Depending on your topic, you can demonstrate your expertise and how to help people. If you are social media expert, it’s easy. You have lots of information you can share that will help people and when you do a good job, you are likely to be hired and get referrals.
3. Attorneys, accountants, architects, doctors, bankers and consultants have a tremendous opportunity to share their expertise so that people leave with practical information that they can use immediately to help them with their goals. The more value you provide for people, they more likely they are to think/say, “I need this person to really get to where I want to go on this topic.”
The more value you deliver, the more trust you build, positioning yourself as the expert along the way.
Structure for New Clients to Easily do Business with You
Structures help us to fulfill on all sorts of things. A road/freeway helps us get to our destination. It makes sense then, that to get new business, we need structure to facilitate that process. Structure is the basis of fulfillment. Without structure, things fall apart. In getting business from speaking, you need structure to help people do business with you.
Very simply you’ll need a plan, a form and inclusion of that structure into your presentation. Here’s an example:
- At the beginning and end of your presentation, you want to let your audience know your objectives in speaking with them. There are two categories of objectives, the objective for you and the objective for them. The more transparent you are about it, the more trust you build. If there’s any hint of manipulation or hiding something, you destroy any trust you might have had.
- In your introduction, you should state your objectives by stating what you want them to get out of the presentation or what you are going to cover. And, let them know if you have any personal objectives for you, but you state in a way that is a benefit for them.
- Here’s an example intro: “My objective today is that you leave knowing keys ways to shelter your money and avoid unneeded taxes – that you learn tips that you can put to use immediately. I also have an evaluation form at the end and on that form I offer a free 15 minute consultation. So, if you like what you hear today (which I intend you will), and you would like some focused attention on your situation, let me know by completing the form. I’ll also let you know at the end about my financial savings program special offer just for attending today.”
- Basically, in the above introduction, you have started with the end in mind. You have prepared the audience with what to expect – value and more value and you are being completely up front about it. Breaking it down, you are letting them know what you are intending for them to get (value), how they can get more value (free 15 min consult) and a special offer (more value). People respect this honesty because you are letting them in on what’s going on, what’s expected. There are no surprises.
- You can add a little incentive and provide a give-away/prize for everyone who turns in an evaluation form. Tell them you’ll pick one (or more) and the winner will receive your prize (Starbuck’s gift card, a book, or whatever you want). People love the chance to win stuff! I learned this little technique from attending lunch at learns at Microsoft in Houston. It works great, everyone likes it, and almost everyone participates.
- Take the introduction example above and fit it to your particular type of speaking engagement. If you want to sell books, then let people know you’ll have a book signing at the end of your presentation and offer your book at a discount. Let them know at the beginning of your introduction. Always give your audience a special offer if they buy today. You can tell them up front about the special pricing, but at the beginning let them know you’ll be letting them know about your special offer at the end.
- Prepare your materials and your setup for the end. Have your forms ready and how you will distribute them. Have an assistant to help you with the logistics to make things go smoothly. You are going to be focused on your presentation and it’s great to have an assistant handle the details. I like to have my evaluation form already distributed to everyone and have it be a different color like yellow.
Bonus
When you offer a free 15 minute consultation, it does a couple of things. It gives those in the audience who are most interested a way to connect with you again with the opportunity and chance to hire you. Plus, it provides those who are most interested more value. When you set up the free consult with them, give them lots of value and don't worry if it goes over 15 minutes. Ask them at the end of your consult if they would be interested in your services. In many cases, you won't even have to because they will be asking you about your services. I have seen this happen time and time again and experienced it myself.
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Hope this is helpful to you. Your comments are always appreciated. What have you done in getting business from speaking engagements that’s worked well for you and not worked? Love to get your feedback.
There’s good and then there’s great. What makes the difference when it comes to public speaking? First, consider what makes a bad speech: no preparation, winging it, rambling, no real point or too many points, disconnected from the audience, lack of confidence, being overconfident, being boring, no volume, monotone, reading slides, lack of passion or drive about the topic, slouching and no knowledge of what the audience wants.
So, if all of these things are what make a bad speech, you would think that you need to have the opposite for at least a good speech. True. A good speech is one that has been prepared, practiced, the point(s) are clear, the audience is engaged, the speaker is confident and excited/passionate about the topic, you can hear them/they have volume and their tone is anything but monotone, and what the audience wants is clearly understood.
Now that we have clarified the characteristics of bad and good – how do you make it great? Nick Morgan, a contributor to Forbes.com and someone who is passionate about communications, especially public speaking, told of an experience where he had to write a speech for the then Governor of Virginia, Chuck Robb. The speech had to show that the Governor was in control of a situation when four death-row inmates had escaped from prison. It took Nick 12 drafts of the speech before his supervisor was even close to happy with it. From this experience, Nick came up with “5 Secrets of Success” for great speeches:
1. Great Speeches are primarily emotional, not logical
2. Small shifts in tone make an enormous difference to the audience, so sweat the details
3. A great speech has a clear voice speaking throughout
4. A great speech conveys one idea only, though it can have lots of supporting points
5. A great speech answers a great need
I believe that Nick's 5 points are right on for delivering a great speech. Consequently, I went searching for great speeches to see if 1) they had these 5 characteristics and 2) they had any other notable values.
Here are my personal favorite top 5 great speeches of all time:
1. Steve Jobs’ commencement speech to the 2005 Stanford University graduating class. From his eye opening introduction where he states, “I never graduated from college” to his statement of what he’s going to talk about “Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories. The first story is about connecting the dots….,” Jobs has captivated his audience. His point is clear “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish,” and each story illustrates this point. He is not overly passionate or excited. He is after all, Steve Jobs, and he has come to deliver an important message by authentically and powerfully sharing about his life. To watch Steve Jobs’ speech, click HERE.
2. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech delivered in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C., was a long speech. Yet, it was incredibly powerful. As you listen, you get goose bumps and get swept up in the emotion. It’s full of poignant visuals, inspiring and uplifting you as you listen. King speaks loudly, emotionally, emphatically, passionately. His speech is delivered in total contrast to Jobs, yet both captivate. To listen to Martin Luther King’s speech, click HERE.
3. John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Speech in 1961 where he ended with “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” His pace is deliberate, emphatic, and passionate as well, Kennedy style. I love his next statement, “My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” To listen to JFK’s speech, click HERE.
4. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address of 1863, although only about 3 minutes long, has remained as powerful now as it was then. Lincoln did more than just dedicate a cemetery to the fallen soldiers; he captured the entire mood of the nation and inspired them to take a stand for liberty and equality. To read Lincoln’s speech and hear Johnny Cash deliver it, click HERE.
5. Susan B. Anthony delivered a speech after she was arrested, tried and fined $100 for voting in the presidential election in 1872. As you read this short and powerful speech, you can hear the emotion and passion. Susan reportedly never paid the fine and she toured the country speaking on women’s right to vote, although it wasn’t until 1920 that women officially won that right in the U.S. Click HERE to read Susan’s short and compelling speech.
In each of these cases and for all great speeches, a need is addressed. The stronger the need, the more compelling the speech can be. One key is to paint the picture of the need first, identify the problem, the pain, the wrong that must be solved and why. Although, as in Steve Jobs’ speech, you can say up front what the speech is about and powerfully illustrate your main point with stories.
Great speeches are carefully prepared, practiced, and are delivered with emotion. The speaker feels what it is that they want to convey. If you want to inspire, you must be inspired. Whatever you want to cause with your audience, you must be it first. You will never inspire anyone if you are not inspired.
And finally, and most importantly, enjoy/believe in what you are doing. The way to connect with your audience and deliver a great speech is to enjoy the experience, enjoy being on the stage, enjoy being at the center, enjoy delivering your message and/or believe strongly in the importance of your message. Your enjoyment and belief will be transferred to the audience. Enjoying and believing what you are doing is authentic, compelling and the cornerstone of confidence, which is essential in delivering a great speech. Good luck!
Should all public speakers have a “Speaker One-Sheet?” And what is a Speaker One-Sheet? The Speaker One-Sheet contains all of the compelling (and concise) reasons people should want you to speak to their group. It’s one of the most important pieces of your marketing that you need as a professional speaker.
What if you aren’t necessarily a professional speaker, and you in a marketing or sales capacity for a company? Should you have a Speaker One-Sheet? The way to determine if you should have one or not is if you want people to bring you in as a speaker even if you do not charge for your presentations.
The point of your Speaker One-Sheet is to position you as an expert in a compelling way. It’s also a great marketing piece to leave behind or have as a handout at display tables. This marketing piece reflects your distinctiveness, importance, and style. A Speaker One-Sheet is a portrait of your expertise, services, clients, testimonials and background. It's called a one-sheet because it fits on one sheet of paper, and can include the front and back. This is much easier to create than a website and a great first marketing tool for a speaker. And, the information on your one-sheet should align with what is on your website.
The Warm Up
As you create your Speaker One-Sheet, keep in mind that this sheet is directed to meeting planners, training directors, event planners, and any one that hires speakers or invites speakers to their group. Before you start writing your Speaker One-Sheet, answer these questions:
1. What field are you expert in?
2. Why did you choose this kind of work?
3. What gets you excited about your presentation?
4. What makes you different from others who do similar work?
5. What problems do you solve or pain do you remove?
6. What does your audience feel when you speak – what are their emotions?
7. How can you be reached for more information?
The Components
Whatever variety of ways you create your own Speaker One-Sheet, important components should be visible on it. Here are the “must haves” for your profile:
- About You: A brief bio about you and your experience positioning you as an authority in your field. Concisely explain the problems you solve, and that you are the right person. Include an attention-grabbing photo that shows your personality.
- Testimonials: Include statements from previous from previous clients. If you don’t have these yet, start collecting them every time you speak. Simply add them to your profile as you collect them.
- List of your Clients: Include a list of clients that are recognizable to your target market. If the people you are targeting have no idea who these clients are, it’s probably best to omit this list until you have some “known” clients.
- List of Topics: List your presentation topics, and, if possible, provide a compelling description on each topic. Your topics and descriptions should be compelling, identifying a problem and your solution.
- Contact Information: This may seem obvious, but you want to make it very easy for a prospect to reach you. Be sure to include phone number, e-mail address, website URL, and a mailing address. Add your social media sites that align with your presentations such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest.
- A clear marketing message: A short but powerful description of your presentation that can grab attention. This is where you tout the benefits of your presentations. Your marketing message should answer this questions: Why should someone hire you and invite you to come speak?
- Visual Branding: What is your brand? Are you the “go to” person for something? What is your catch phrase? Your visual branding can include your phrase, color, logo, social meda icons, other logos of relevant group affiliations, images, and even fonts.
Proofreading
After you have compiled and finished your one-sheet, ask someone (preferably an editor) to proof read your work. Another set of eyes can help you avoid grammar issues, misspellings, punctuation errors, wrong word use, etc. Even if you’re good at both writing and speaking, it’s easy to miss mistakes. A professional Speaker One-Sheet will not have any grammatical errors or misspellings. If you have any of these mistakes, your one-sheet is simply not professional looking. It does happen, so don't fret too much about it. Just commit to doing the very best you can.
Additional Tips
To maximize your marketing success, here a few additional tips:
- Add your one-sheet as a downloadable document from your website.
- Print out colored copies for networking events, trade shows, and other opportunities.
- Use a good printer or have it professionally printed to really shine.
- Print small batches at first because you are likely to update it as you get started.
- Speak from your clients’ perspective when compiling your one-sheet.
- Avoid over-using “I” or speaking directly from your point of view.
- Lastly, your one-sheet should be consistent with your marketing materials (e.g. website).
Creating your Speaker One-Sheet pulls your speaker strategy together all in one place. Creating it is a great exercise as it really makes you think about who you are, the difference you are making for people and what your strategy is.
You will learn how to make an initial impression last and bring more success to your business. It’s amazing how a Speaker One-Sheet will boost not only your sales, but also your confidence. With the perfect blend of passion and purpose, content and design, your Speaker One-Sheet can hit its mark with your targeted audience and make your speaking career a success.
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