Sunday, April 06, 2008

How to Be A Professional Speaker (Part 5)

Why Does It Matter?

How can ordinary, boring life events help you to become a public speaker? It may seem like a stretch but the fact is that people love to hear about other people's successes and failures....and as long as the story ultimately ends in success....they love the failure part!!

They use this information to help define their own abilities both positively and negatively.

They need to know that an average person just like them can ultimately accomplish great things.

For example, perhaps tragedy struck your family when your father lost his job. Your family did not have the funds for anything. The way that this situation is handled by you defines who you are and that's what you want to get at later in your speeches.


You could approach the subject about how this taught you humility and defined the person that you are today, for example. Perhaps it helped you to be so frugal in your business that you managed to be more successful than the next guy because of it.

Simply define for yourself what it was like to overcome life and it's most difficult of situations. Things like the loss of a loved one, dealing with fear, dealing with financial ruin and even dealing with rejection are all basic levels of emotions that many people go through in their lifetime.


Not only does this give you a tool by which to work from, but it helps you to gain the necessary resources to truly inspire others with through a connection. If you struggled with fear, they can bond with you on that level because they have done so at some time. This can ultimately be one of the best ways to communicate with those that you are speaking with.


When you are looking back into your past, ask yourself what it means to be a motivational or other type of public speaker. You need to have material that will help you to get your message out there. Some public speakers gather facts and figures from the world to use.

YOU ARE NOT DOING THERAPY WITH YOURSELF ON STAGE.


You are ever present with your audience, looking into their hearts, their minds, their pain, their love.

That might sound ...different, but it is what you are there to do.

If you don't get carried away, you can use SNIPPETS from your life to fuel your speeches. They do this because it is one of the most powerful ways to communicate with those you are speaking to. It allows you to show that you have the same experiences as they have had. Now, you can show them the right way to deal with those experiences.

REALLY IMPORTANT: What Can You Offer To The Masses?

Now that you have taken some time to really define who you are, you need to find a way to provide others with something useful from those experiences.

One thing to remember here is this. No matter how successful you think you are, chances are that no one is going to pay you to talk about your past life experiences.

Sure, this can be part of your material to use, but some underlying benefit must come through. It is up to you to determine what that ultimately should be, though.


How can you take your life experiences and make them into something that is wanted and needed by your audience members?


I mentioned the processes of working with connections where you are able to use your own personal experiences to draw a connection to the other person listening to you speak. This is important because you want them to know that you do have some experience and know what you are talking about.

But, moving to the next step is more challenging. Now, you must take your experiences and convey your personal feelings with them.


Remember, although there are many professionals out there looking forward to a career in public speaking, it is also important to note that no one wants to sit and hear your story without some meaning.

How many people have you had to sit through listening to them talk to you about their life? Most people will do this without costing the listener a penny!



Part 6: "What can your presentations do?"


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