How To Shine In The Spotlight | Simple changes can help you develop into a strong public speaker
I know what you are saying… You would rather have teeth pulled without Novocain than to get up and speak before a crowd! Relax, you are not alone.
Studies show that the fear of public speaking is one of the biggest fears that businesspeople have, regardless of their job titles.
However, if you master some of the basics of public speaking, you can use this tool to catapult your business, gain exposure and eventually gain “expert” status.
Audiences Large And Small
Keep in mind that when you are picked to address an audience, regardless of the size or composition of the group, you have total control of that audience during your time on stage. How you use that time determines the attitude that others may have about you and it is totally in your hands to shape that attitude and build your profile in a positive way.
When I use the term “public speaking,” I am not necessarily referring to getting up in front of a filled-up DCU Center of more than 10,000 people. Although it could be.
Perhaps you want to get accustomed to public speaking by being a greater contributor to your office staff meetings. Rather than speaking while seated, stand up and say your piece. By standing, you immediately gain control of the room.
You can then move on to speaking for Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis and other organizations that are located virtually everywhere and need a new speaker every week. Practice in house first, then make the move to the service organizations. You never know who is sitting in on a particular meeting, and this makes it imperative that you are prepared to deliver your presentation with class and confidence.
Center Of Attention
Once you are introduced by the meeting moderator, all eyes are on you. Don’t let this scare you. Use it as a positive reason to present your best material so you can attain expert status from all of the attendees. You see, while you are at the microphone, you gain the respect of those in the room, since they are happy that it is not them that are being called upon to speak.
It is vital that your presentation, say for 15 minutes on a topic of your expertise, be filled with information, and not filled with sales pitches for your company, product or service. This is the best way to lose credibility with any crowd. No one wants to be “sold.” They want to be “informed.”
And once they are informed sufficiently to feel that you know your “stuff,” they may approach you on a business issue. Even if the audience members are not the ones responsible for buying your product, a good referral to another person within their organization can be very helpful.
If you are able to inform intelligently in a non-threatening and unpushy way, then you gain respect of the crowd. This will help you the next time an audience member is in the market for what you sell or represent.
When your presentation is finished, always remain to answer any questions from audience members. If you are approaching the end of your time on stage and audience members are still asking questions, this is a good sign that you have created interest in what you have spoken about. Encourage questions and even if the questions are “silly,” never embarrass the person. That is a surefire way to make sure no one else asks you anything.
Stay Late
Always remain to answer the last question from the last person in the room. Remember, they could be a major client someday or maybe they are already working with your competition and you go out of your way to help them solve their issue. That would certainly put you in good stead with them when they were ready to buy again.
One of the favorable byproducts of a successful presentation is the chance that a media member may be in attendance at the event. Then a story about you may appear in a publication. And even if it is a local publication, it probably has a digital format where you can send that piece to all of your clients. Third party endorsements of your skills, products and credibility are much greater than any brochure you can have written about you.
It is very important to have an ample supply of business cards with you. In fact, during your presentation, have them passed around to the audience members, if your groups are under 25 people.
The last issue you want to create is that you have presented well and no one can reach you for further contact about what you do.
One way to get contact information from the audience members is to have a drawing for something that you can give to them.
Great presentation skills lead to greater awareness of you as an expert. Take full advantage of it and present with professionalism.
DiPietro is an author, speaker and marketer based in Holden. He can be reached at originaljohndipietro@gmail.com.
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