Tell Your Story Vividly and Specifically

As you tell your story, speak in the present tense. Share your story as if it’s happening right now in the present moment. Convey excitement and enthusiasm using gestures, facial expressions, and inflection as you describe your story. What leaves the strongest impression on the audience is how you look and sound. People walk away from a presentation remembering what they’ve seen and heard. The words alone are quickly forgotten, so be sure to convey excitement and enthusiasm in your speaking.

5 Ice-Breaking Strategies for Speaking Powerfully

1. Visualize your success as a speaker. Spend a few minutes daily, several days before you deliver your talk, visualizing yourself giving a great presentation. Imagine the audience smiling as you speak and applauding at the end of your presentation.
2. Know the first 3 minutes of your talk. Most speakers are most nervous at the beginning of their talk. Make sure to be well prepared by rehearsing those first three minutes several times over so you know your material well.
3. Connect with the audience. Look directly at people as you speak for no more than 4-5 seconds. You want to feel the energy of the audience and they want to feel your energy too.
4. Meet with the audience before your talk. An easy way to break the ice with the audience is to arrive and mingle before your talk. Understand the audience is on your side. They came to hear what you have to say and want you to win!
5. Focus on the audience. With the initial nervousness that many new speakers experience, it's easy to have thoughts like "Will they like me? Am I doing a good job?" Put these thoughts aside and focus on the difference you're there to make for them!

How to Instantly Connect with the Audience

We all have a personal story to tell about our journey through life. Many of us had to deal with challenges at different times in our lives. Your personal story has made you who you are today. The people who inspire me the most are the ones who authentically share their personal story of struggle and victory with us.

When you're willing to open up your heart and reveal who you really are, people feel instantly connected to you.

They listen to your story and what you've overcome, and say to themselves, "If she or he did that, so can I!" I've had many people come up to me after I've shared my personal story of overcoming breast cancer and how it changed my life, and tell me how it's inspired them.

Tell your story vividly and specifically. Speak in the present tense. Share your story as if it's happening right now in the present moment. Convey excitement and enthusiasm using gestures, facial expressions, and inflection as you describe your story. What leaves the strongest impression is how you look and sound.

Five Surefire Ways to Draw the Audience to You Like a Magnet

The goal of every speaker is to hold the audience’s attention right from the start and all the way to the end. If you accomplish this, you’ll have people lining up wanting to work with you. Here are five ways to draw the audience to you like a magnet…

1. Engage with the audience right from the start by asking questions, sharing a story, or giving factual information.
2. Have them stand up and introduce themselves, their businesses, and what they want to get out of the event.
3. Learn their names, so you can refer back to them when speaking. This will keep them keenly listening to what you say. They also feel important because you’ve remembered their names.
4. Make it interactive by having them do exercises and then have them share in pairs or groups.
5. As you give your talk, speak directly to the audience members. This quickly connects you with the audience and them to you.