Sensational speaking is like sensational music

Speaking is much like beautiful music, there needs to be rhythm, emotion, originality and flow.  Try recording your own presentation.  Is your tone rhythmic or is it repetitive? Is your voice emotionally charged or flat lined?  Does your delivery represent you or someone else? Would my mind dance to your words or would it struggle to stay in step?  Sensational speaking is like sensational music.

Mining for gold

In every audience there is tremendous wisdom.  Find a way to mine that wisdom by getting them involved in your talk.  Ask questions and let them answer, ask for volunteers to demonstrate something, have small group discussions or even invite one or two up to speak for a minute or so. Engage your audience, draw on their wisdom, add theirs to yours and you will be a sensational speaker.

Stand up. stand out and be a hero

In a society, such as ours, that encourages conformity, the one who stands up and stands out is the one who will change our world.  If you have words that yearn to be said; a story that longs to be told, learn to tell it well! Learn to stand up and stand out and YOU will change someone’s world, YOU will be their hero!

Get lost in your message.

Your audience wants to witness your passion, not watch your technique. Get lost in your message, tell your story like it's fresh in your heart and your audience will love you for it. Make your audience feel about your message the way YOU feel about your message and you become a catalyst for their transformation into something more than they were when they sat down. THAT’S sensational speaking!

PowerPoint Tip # 7

PowerPoint Tip # 7: PowerPoint has awesome animation tools. Use them wisely to build the story in your slides, never just to dazzle your audience. With every animation, ask yourself “does this support my message or is it just here because it’s cool?”. If it’s just cool, dump it, if it enhances your point, keep it, but remember, YOU are the presentation, not your slides.

PowerPoint Tip # 6:

PowerPoint Tip # 6:  Remove anything from your slides that doesn’t support your message; logos, flashy backgrounds, borders, animations and graphics that don’t mean anything. Your slides can only do one of two things; support your message or detract from it. Do you really need your logo on every slide?  Doesn’t your audience already know who you are? Promote with your talent, not your slides.

PowerPoint tip #5:

PowerPoint tip #5: Each slide should have only one purpose, one point, one image and/or one caption.  Typically (yes there are exceptions) if you can’t write your caption on a 3 x 3 inch post-it note, you have too many words for one slide. Your audience should be able to look at your slide and get the point in 1 second flat, and then turn their attention back to you, the speaker, where it belongs.