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!