What is the entire purpose of powerful public speaking? The goal is to inform and entertain, to inspire and ultimately, to spur the audience into taking action. In order to craft a speech that will have the greatest impact, you have to successfully wow your audience, while also entertaining them. One of the ways that you could execute this is by relying on powerful public speaking techniques. We have a few for you to try out.
Connect With Your Audience
You only get one chance to make a first impression. So, when you open, you should say something that will connect you to the audience. You may have an opening phrase that works wherever you are or, you may need to create a different opening line for every speech. For example, you could congratulate them for making the correct decision to attend.
They are there to better themselves, and that makes them unique. Your audience will nod in agreement and glance at the others around them. They’ll think about the people who could have attended, but chose not to for whatever reason. Now you have them on your wavelength.
Use Emotion
Most people don’t realize just how much they allow their emotions to sway their thoughts and decisions. You might think that you’re a logical person, but emotions hold sway. The majority of people use their emotions to think and then rely on their logic to justify their conclusions.
That’s your subconscious working hard. When you meet someone, your emotions take over and decide that you like them. Later, you learn why you were instantly drawn to them. Emotion first, logic second. You can use that in your public speaking.
Compliment the Audience
Circle back to point one. As you speak, remind them that they were smart enough to attend your speech. “You already know this because you’re here.” You already told them they were winning by being present so, use that to your advantage. Successful people do this so, you should, too. It makes them feel good about themselves and makes your content enjoyable and entertaining.
Create Links
Public speaking is an art form; it’s creative storytelling. Your opening story or line should be one that hooks the audience in. It should also be something that you can repeatedly refer back to throughout your discussion. It’s a powerful and effective technique.
The Story You Tell
If you want to entertain, if you want to move your audience, then you have to tell a good story. They are the biggest part of a great presentation. You can tell your own stories or someone else’s; the key is to keep them short. If it’s your story, then great. If it’s not, you can introduce it by saying you recently heard this story. The audience will focus their full attention on you when you begin telling a story.
Facts and figures are great, strategies and details are good, too. This will make the audience sit up and take notice, as will methods and techniques. However, the brain can only pay attention for so long. It won’t keep them locked in. A story though, will. Design your talk or speech around three stories.
- The opening
- Three key points
- The closing
It’s as simple as that. You introduce yourself with a strong opening, establish your first point, and tell a story. You transition into the next chapter of your discussion, introduce the second key point, and seal it with a story. Finally, transition into the final chapter, get your third point across and close. The stories you tell, that is what links everything together. When you choose to share emotional, motivational, or inspiring stories, you will elicit a powerful reaction from your audience.