Ten Nuggets of Public Speaking that every speaker should imbibe - Part 2

In the previous article, we gave you five nuggets of public speaking advice. These five nuggets will complete the circle of excellence on your journey of public speaking.

• Become a great storyteller: From time immemorial, stories have touched generations and transformed lives. A good speaker is always a great storyteller. A lack of this crucial skill brings your effectiveness as a speaker down considerably. Delivering a personal story well adds credibility to the speaker’s image.

• Paint pictures: Use emotions, vivid images and the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight and sound to transport your listeners to the world you want them to enter.

• Know your room and audience: Coming early to the venue has its advantages. It gives you time to set up your equipment, check how your power points look through the eyes of the audience, and get familiar with the room. The major advantage, however, is that you can spend time interacting with the members of the audience. This helps reduce your nervousness and also helps build bonds with your audience. It also gives you the time to understand their current mood and energy levels.

• Answering questions to the point: Be as brief and concise as possible. Remember that the person asking the question may be the only one who is interested. Listen carefully and repeat the question to check whether you have understood it right.

• Walk the talk: Living the principles you talk about in your personal and professional life is probably the most important element in determining the credibility of a speaker. If there is a mismatch between his words and his actions, it inevitably shows up in his body language or tone. Listeners are swayed more by the visual and vocal elements than by the verbal message.