10 Secrets to Being a Great Speaker
October 15, 2007
Today’s Magic Wand: The Presenters at the Startup Princess conference were awesome! One of the reasons was that they were very prepared and another is because they fit their messages to the audience. I was impressed by their captivating, content driven messages. Here’s 10 Secrets to Being a Great Speaker (from things I’ve noticed that worked well).
1. Object Lessons in Presentations can be Effective–Becca Levie demonstrated how to cut a piece of paper big enough for 3 people to fit in, you’d think it would be impossible, but she showed us how and reminded us to take a new perspective/think different.
2. Handouts of your Powerpoint Presentation can be a Great Backup (particularly if the projector doesn’t work)–We had a few issues with our projector and it made me consider that bringing a handout of the slides could be a good back up for the audience and also provides them the content so they don’t have to worry about writing down all of the notes (great thinking Nancy Cadjan!)
3. Bring Product Samples (if you can), these don’t have to be your own products, you can even get a sponsor to donate little gifts to hand out–if they are somewhat related to your topic or you can work it into the presentation somehow, everyone loves a gift (Startup Princesses at our conference walked away with Becca Levie’s LipNotes chapstick, gourmet popcorn by Colorado Kernels, and more fun items!) Or, you can give away product for prizes…thanks to Raw Melissa, Lori Harris, Rachael Herrscher, Corey Olauson, Nancy Cadjan, Becca Levie, Wendy Bird, Deborah Gardner and Sarah Jane Wright.
4. Get to Know Your Audience, if you are new to an organization, spend some time on their website, get to know your audience and gear your presentation with their culture lingo, etc.
5. Incorporate the Conference Theme Our Keynote Speakers did such an amazing job of speaking about and emphasizing our conference theme, Make a Wish, Make it Happen…Barbara Vineyard added Make a Wish, Make it Happen through Connections, I loved that twist for her presentation in a final send-off for the conference.
6. Be Flexible! Tech issues happen, speaking times get shorter (or longer!), and if you can be flexible, it will make things much easier. During my presentation my cell phone rang! It ended up being a good time to remind people to turn their phone on vibrate!
7. Be Passionate about your Topic! We all love to hear someone speak who is passionate. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about internet marketing or are sharing an inspirational message, share what you’re passionate about, share personal stories and experiences!
8. Arrive Early and Get a Sense of the Conference Atmosphere, when possible– it helps to attend a session prior to yours so you can get to know your audience better and if you can, stay afterwards too, it will help the audience feel that they can approach/relate to you easier if you are a participant as well as a speaker. You might also see if you can run a “tech check” with the projector, etc. if you have a media presentation–you don’t want any surprises!
9. Be Transparent, be REAL–share with them
your challenges, successes, and be honest about how things are going if/when asked. I was so impressed that Barbara Vineyard (at left here) talked about her magazine’s challenge to reach a broader audience and make it profitable…she gained respect for sharing and compassion as well. It’s a good thing to see that speakers don’t have all the answers and are trying just like the rest of us.
10. Leave Time for Q&A Although it’s not always under the Speaker’s control, if possible leave a few minutes to answer questions, unless it’s a motivational speech, then no Q&A typically; some of my favorite parts were the Q&A!!
If speaking isn’t your forte, start practicing, you never know when you might be asked to be on a panel or speak for a group! 
Eye contact, Confidence, Familiarity with the Topic, and Audience Participation/Interaction are always important.
