The three top skills for impactful speaking

I’m often asked “What one thing should I work on to become a better speaker?” You might think I’d tell you to avoid speaking in monotone or use more powerful language – and while those can stop you being annoying and bring gravitas to your speeches, they’ll only get you so far. On their own, neither of these will make you memorable, get you rebooked or generate business.

Here are my top three skills, which you might not have considered before

Storytelling

Storytelling, is what turns a lack lustre itemised list into an emotion driven human connection. Within a speech, stories don’t need to be long, drawn out affairs – in this context they include anecdotes, client stories, business myths, personal stories and more. The art of storytelling is one that you can work on for years and still continue to improve. Keep stories, powerful, meaningful and relevant.

Stories connect.

Timing

Learn to speak to time. When you’re passionate about what you do it’s easy to go off at a tangent, and then run out of time, or overrun. It’s also easy to underestimate the time it takes for audience activities. Be aware that there will be audience members who are waiting to eat, leave or see the next speaker. Overruns also impact fellow speakers, I’ve often seen a final speaker having to cut their time short due so the event could end on time. The alternative to overrunning is to cut your time short. This is less likely to impact your chance of getting rebooked but can lead to you cutting vital information at the end of your talk.

Timing matters.

Adaptability

A fantastic speech is only a fantastic speech when it has the right audience. Critically for you, you’ll only get results if the audience connects with what you are saying. Knowing your audience’s goals, experience and terms of reference is key to making your mark. Learning to adapt your content to the needs of the audience in advance, as well as picking up and reacting to cues while you are speaking can turn a good, well practised speaker, into a great adaptive speaker.

Adaptability wins.

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Ready to make impact with a speech that showcases your business?

Always Stage-Ready is a 5 week program where you’ll work on all the above, alongside developing the talk that stands your business out as unique.

This is not for those who want to create a sales pitch, but for women who want to attract their ideal client, gain referrals and be booked again without losing their personality or abandoning their values.

The next cohort begins on September 9th Check out the details here

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