What Makes a Successful Speaker

Successful speakers do not necessarily do all the right things all the time. They often take risks and risk bombing. But all highly successful speakers take action, mostly daily, to move toward their goals with lots of course adjustments.

They connect with their audience quickly; usually in the first sixty seconds. To connect is spiritual. It's the core.

They speak with E's They educate, entertain, and provide their audience with an interactive experience.

They speak with influence, not control or to engender guilt. They know that with the privilege of the platform comes the awesome responsibility of motivating and influencing the audience to feel, think, and act differently.

They get the audience involved through group exercises, role-playing and simple questions and answers. When people interact, they get it better and retain it longer.

They give the audience the facts laced with a good dose of humor. Adults learn better when they are lightening up! Here's the place for some magic tricks, handwriting analysis, or a song.

They vary their tone of voice, smile often, and show passion for their subject matter. Their body language reflects their comments.

They hold themselves accountable for excellence. They help each person in the audience be accountable and live up to his or her potential. They give audiences what they need, not just what they want.

They are the speaker who motivates the audience to admire and respect them. They know they have succeeded when people say, I want to be like him or her.

They are supportive of their audience. They believe in them. They say, I did that. And so can you.

They stand and accept their applause.

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"Written by Coach Sandra Schrift - a career telecoach to emerging and experienced speakers who want to get to the next level in their profession. Visit her on the web at: schrift.com to learn more about her Speakers University teleclasses. And, be sure to sign up for her great newsletter - Monday Morning Mindfulness!" Phone: 619-688-9467 or email Sandra@schrift.com.