Public Speaking and Writing: 7 Tips to Unlock your Potential to Inspire

What you DO versus what you REPRESENT

The key to unlocking the potential to inspire people while speaking or writing, is to engage them so they see  not only what you DO, but more importantly, what you REPRESENT.  So you’ve gotten your business running and are actively overcoming your fears of speaking so that you can voice your passion; so that you can reach all who you are meant to reach!  Your marketing message, your elevator speech CLEARLY explains what you do.  But does it express what you REPRESENT?

STOP a moment.  In order for your elevator speech, your marketing message to truly reach people, it needs to express what you REPRESENT, not just what you do.  For example, what I do is I connect professionals with their clients and their markets through dynamic verbal and nonverbal, live, virtual, and written communication skills development training.  My curriculum results in engaging, interactive, credible presentations that inspire and move audiences to action.  You can see that I represent commitment to empowering and inspiring professionals to fully express their passions!

It’s When you GRAB your Audience that you’re SPEAKING

I and a friend and colleague of mine, Dean Raasch were recently brainstorming for our upcoming workshop.  Dean was sharing snippets of his public speaking and leadership training.  His next comment was a natural progression in the conversation.  “It’s when you grab your audience that you’re speaking.”

Think about that a moment.  “It’s when you grab your audience that you’re speaking.”  Do you grab your audience BEFORE you start speaking?  Another way of putting this is “Do you ENGAGE your audience so that they PAY ATTENTION when you speak?”  Dean had seen so many struggling entrepreneurs, managers, aspiring managers, and sales professionals who put forth so much effort into their content, yet forgot to ENGAGE their audience.

Managing Public Speaking Fears

Ultimately, what do you want from the speaking or copy that you’re creating and effortfully executing? Do you want to feel like you “got through it”-that you overcame the fears of being visible?  Or do you want to walk away knowing that you TOUCHED someone’s life-that you improved the life of someone?  Most of us as humans want to feel like we’ve touched someone in a positive way.  “Getting through it” might be one of the steps toward touching people’s lives.

In fact, according to many studies, people fear public speaking more than they fear death!  Most newcomers to public speaking experience FEARS.  They experience fear and nervousness. However, YOU have the option to MANAGE  that fear.  Do you want to manage your fears?   Here is one way to manage that fear.

Believe in the Purpose of your Message

Believing in the purpose of your message, to TOUCH LIVES, will empower you to struggle less with public speaking.  Your belief in the purpose of your message occurs when you speak compellingly.  Remember what Dean said to me-“It’s when you grab your audience that you’re speaking.”  That’s one of the tools-grabbing your audience’s attention.  To grab your audience’s attention, find something that moves them.  You’ll know you move them when you see:

1. Their eyes light up
2. They lean  just a smidgen closer to you
3. Their eye brows raise
4. They tilt their head
5. They show emotion in their face or their body language

Inspiring Audiences to Action

In Master Your Accent’s article “3 Guaranteed Ways of Transforming your Presentation Fears: Capturing and Engaging your Audience Every Time”, we explained how to break through presentation blocks using the following dynamic speaking tools.  Using these tools will engage your audiences.  They will grab their attention.  That’s when you’ll truly be “speaking”.  It’s then that your speaking can inspire them.

1. Use real-lif examples
2. Speak conversationally
3. Share your own life story or experiences
4. Offer solutions to their problems

Visualize yourself as the Voice of your Written Copy

Many clients struggle not only with speaking in person, on videos or in audio classes.  They also struggle with the effectiveness of their written copy material.  If your presentation material is written copy through your blogs, website marketing, or hard copy, still use this method to GRAB your audience.  Just visualize you directly speaking your written copy to them in person.  Imagine yourself as never hearing yourself speak before.  Remove yourself from yourself.  Objectively look at whether you grabbed and engaged your own attention.

Summary: How to Inspire through Writing and Speaking

To unlock your potential to inspire audiences through speaking and writing:

1. Acknowledge that fear is common and natural in newcomers to public speaking
2. Acknowledge that facing your fears is critical to overcoming them
3. Manage your public speaking and visibility fears
4. Express beyond what your work or knowledge is; express what it represents
5. Grab your audience’s attention and engage them through various methods
6. Visualize yourself as the voice of your written copy
7. Modify your material until you have grabbed your audience. Then you’re speaking!