Has God given you a message to share with the world? Do you have something you long to teach others but fear the process of speaking? Do you long to become a better speaker?
The Challenge to Become a Speaker
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I’m right there with you. Now you may wonder why a wannabe writer and sometimes blogger is trying to figure out how to become a good public speaker. After all, those things have nothing in common, right?
I used to feel that way too…until I realized that there was a whole lot more involved in being an author than just writing. There’s a whole lot more to being in ministry than just serving. There are times when God gives you a message that He wants you to deliver out loud. Or, maybe He wants you to use your voice to direct others to the hidden gems that are sometimes hidden in written words.
So, how do you become a better speaker and communicator?
Qualities of a Good Public Speaker
If you want to become a better speaker you first have to figure out the qualities of a good public speaker. Just because you have something life-changing to say won’t make you great at saying it. You have to be able to communicate your message to the audience in such a way that they not only understand it but can clearly see at least the next step they should take to implement the solution in their own life.
A good public speaker has at least the following qualities:
Clear communication
A teacher once told me that effective communication happens when a message is passed on, received, and responded to. If those three things don’t happen, then the communication was ineffective. Just think about it for a second.
Let’s say you want someone to walk into the kitchen and bring you a glass of water. You articulate your response but the person goes into the kitchen and brings you a spoon. As fas as you were concerned you had made your request clear. Unfortunately, the other person did not understand your request. You had failed to communicate.
Clear communication is so much more important when you are going to a (hopefully) large group of people with diverse backgrounds. You want to be able to communicate your message in such a way that your audience knows exactly what you meant and how they are expected to respond.
To become a better speaker, you have to communicate your ideas to your audience and get them to respond.
Passion
Do you want to become a better speaker? Choose a topic that you’re passionate about. When we are excited about a topic our entire body communicates it to our audience. Just think about the last time you were telling someone about an experience you enjoyed, I bet the other person had a pretty good idea how you felt about the subject.
On the other hand, think about how you feel when you are asked to speak about something you have no interest in…unless you can generate some interest in the topic you may sound a bit like this guy…
As you seek to become a better speaker you should choose to speak on topics that you are passionate about because this will, in turn, make your audience care about your topic.
Confidence
My church sent me to a three-day conference one year. One of the worst speeches I heard was a very prominent person who stumbled over everything he had to say. The topic could have been interesting but he was obviously uncomfortable on stage and didn’t manage to keep the audience’s attention. After a few minutes, the crowd was restless and agitated. Many persons eventually left the room.
At the same conference, I sat and listened to a presentation on bitcoin (a topic I had no interest in) because the speaker was able to communicate the material in such a way that it was engaging. What was the difference between the two speakers? Confidence.
The bitcoin speaker was at least twenty years younger than the other speaker and had maybe half of his experience, yet she commanded the attention of the audience and demanded that they listened. She did this by portraying her command of the material and her lack of intimidation to be standing in front of the audience.
If you want to become a better speaker, you have to be able to convince the audience that you’re confident. They have to believe that you are the best choice to make the presentation even if you’re not the most knowledgable or experienced.
Connecting with the audience
A speech is about more than being a good orator. It’s about how well you can engage your audience. Remember how I said you wanted the audience to leave with at least one takeaway? Well, the best way to do that is to somehow connect with them.
When you are able to get the audience interested in your message to the point where they can connect it with what they’re going through, you’ll better be able to communicate your message to them. One key to becoming a better speaker is knowing how to connect with and engage your audience.
Maybe you want to become a better speaker but don’t know where to start. The Successful Speaker gets you on the path to success by giving you five clear steps.
The 5-Step Process to Become a Better Speaker
If you’re still wondering how you can become a better general speaker, I’d like to share a new resource with you. The Successful Speaker gets you on the path to success by giving you five clear steps.
The Successful Speaker takes you through the process of choosing a niche, preparing and delivering your talk, establishing your expertise, getting paid to speak, and deciding when it’s time to diversify your speaking business.
The Successful Speaker Review
Okay, so I’m not a speaker but I have spoken before and for me, it can be one of the most nerve-wracking things on earth. But speaking to an audience can also feel perfectly natural if you know what to do.
The Successful Speaker takes you from stage one when you are just trying to decide if you want to the last stage when you’re established in your career and are thinking of diversifying.
Now I understand that this is by no means a comprehensive training but I think the book highlights the main things to be done as part of the process so you can begin the process of becoming a speaker.
The Successful Speaker was easy to read and presented the steps in a clear, matter-of-fact way. The author used his experience and that of other speakers to validate his points. Each chapter has a series of activities and steps to be completed for each stage in the journey to becoming a successful speaker. I liked that at the end of every chapter there were action items based on the chapter that if followed will have a person ready to present his first speech by the end of the book…once someone hires him of course.
Get your copy of The Successful Speaker today. I received an advanced reader’s copy from Baker Books as part of their blogger reads program; a positive review was not required.
About The Successful Speaker: Five Steps for Booking Gigs, Getting Paid, and Building Your Platform
Do you have a message you want to get out into the world?
Have you ever dreamed of speaking for a living?
Is there something you have to say, but you just aren’t sure what to do next?
The Successful Speaker is a proven, easy-to-follow guide to helping you do just that.
Whether you want to speak at your next board meeting or community gathering, start making some extra money on the side, or become a full-time professional speaker, Grant Baldwin knows how to get you from here to there. Why? Because he’s done it himself and has coached over two thousand speakers.
In The Successful Speaker, you will learn the five-step roadmap to starting and scaling a speaking business from the ground up, including
– how to hone your message and know exactly who it’s for
– the preparation process to help your next speech move an audience to action
– what it takes to establish yourself as an in-demand expert
– practical steps to finding and booking paid speaking gigs
– how to know when it’s time to grow your impact and income
About the Authors
In each chapter, you will get specific action steps and case studies from professional speakers (including some of the most successful communicators in the world) to put you on the fast track to booking gigs, getting paid, and building your speaking platform.
Grant Baldwin is the creator of the popular podcast The Speaker Lab and the online course Booked and Paid to Speak, through which he has trained more than two thousand speakers. A popular keynote speaker and entrepreneur, he lives near Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Sheila, and their three daughters. Visit www.TheSpeakerLab.com for more information.
Jeff Goins is the bestselling author of five books, including Real Artists Don’t Starve and The Art of Work. He lives with his family just outside Nashville, Tennessee. His website, www.goinswriter.com, is visited by millions of people every year.
3 Tips to Become a Better Speaker from The Successful Speaker
I may never become a public orator but after reading The Successful Speaker I’ve picked up a few tips I know will help me the next time I have to stand in front of an audience to deliver a message.
Less is more
Many times when I am faced with the task of writing a speech, I have so many things I want to say that I can feel a bit overwhelmed. But sometimes, less is more. It’s better to clearly communicate one idea that the audience can then go home and implement than to bombard them with so many ideas they’re confused.
Prepare and practice
The more prepared you are to deliver the material, the better your speech will be. If you want to become a better speaker, spend some time researching the material you will present. Once that’s done, practice your speech. The more you practice the more comfortable you’ll be on the stage. The aim is not to memorize the speech but rather to internalize your message so that it flows from some inner part of you.
Be professional
Becoming a speaker is about more than just delivering a speech. As a speaker, you are providing a service not only to your audience nut also to the person who hired you. The things you do before, during, and after your speech affects the impression they have of you.
If you are want to learn more about how to become a better speaker, I strongly recommend The Successful Speaker as a resource especially if you’re just starting out.
Have you read The Successful Speaker? What were your thoughts?
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