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.

Want to be a Paid Speaker?

Many new speakers are eager to hit the ground running getting paid to speak. Ah... if only it would be that easy! Before you start charging a fee for speaking, there are five things that need to happen.

Authors Dottie Walters and Lilly Walters write in their book Speak and Grow Rich...

You should start charging for your speeches when you have:

• Become an expert.
• Developed a passion for your subject and your career of professional speaking, so that you never stop learning and improving every day.
• Given at least 50 to 100 no-fee speeches.
• Learned to be a good, reliable, exciting, informative professional presenter who can handle any emergency.
• Had members of your no-fee audience come up to talk to you after the speech and say, “What would you charge to speak at our meeting?”

Be the Speaker You Dream of Being

For many people, they dream of being a speaker. Is that you? You know you have a dream of being a speaker. You know you have a message to share with others. Sadly, you don't pursue your dream because of a fear of not being good enough or fear of failing. No one was born a natural speaker. Speaking is a skill you can learn. It begins with following these four steps:

1. Make the decision to pursue your dream to speak. Once you make the decision, new openings for actions will arise.
2. Write your vision of what your life would look like as a speaker. With a clear picture of what you want, your vision will become a reality and no longer a pipe dream.
3. Commit to learn everything you need to learn to become a speaker. By committing, you're holding yourself accountable—that's when the results will come.
4. Take action NOW! Take action today to bring you closer to your dream.

Follow these four steps and you'll begin to see your dream of being a speaker become a reality.

Grab Their Attention in 60 Seconds

Whether you’re attending a networking event or trade show, you only have about 60 seconds to introduce yourself and grab the prospect’s attention.

If you want your prospects to sit up and listen, create a message that grabs their attention in the first 60 seconds. Creating a compelling message that addresses their needs is both an opportunity to promote your services and a way to separate yourself from the rest. It will make people want to know more about you.

Your statement must be vivid, specific, and easy to remember. Your main objective for your message is to get people to say, “Wow, you’re exactly what I need! Can I have your card?” Better still, it will make them say, “I want to work with you! When can we talk?”

Expressing in positive words the ways you help people and the results they gain from working with you will motivate them to find out more about your service.

Are You Ready to Shift Your Beliefs about Speaking?

We did not come into the world with any limiting beliefs or fears. When we were born, we were completely unafraid, fully expressed, and spontaneous. But as we grew up, our parents and people around us began teaching us their beliefs. They began saying things like, “Be careful!” “Stop!” “Get away from there!” “No! You can’t do that!” And, the more you heard these thoughts over time, you accepted them as the truth.

When it comes to speaking, you may have a limiting belief you don’t have what it takes to be a successful speaker. You’ve said this statement to yourself so often, you believe it’s the truth.

No one was born a natural speaker. You can become the speaker you want to be by creating a new set of beliefs and positive self-talk. First, identify what your beliefs are, when did you first start hearing these beliefs and ask yourself if they are really true? You’ll see that these beliefs were passed to you by someone else and you heard them so often, you assumed they were true.

We all have the power within us to change the way we think.

Terrified of Speaking?

Studies have shown that one of the top fears people have is speaking to groups. For some people, when it comes to speaking, they'd rather be the one being eulogized than the person giving the eulogy!

Even well-known celebrities have admitted fears of speaking in public. Barbra Streisand stopped singing for 20 years due to her anxiety about performing in front of an audience.

How many times have you watched a speaker and thought, "I can do that!" And then that little inner critic in your head starts making noise and tells you, "Who am I kidding! I'm not a speaker... I can't do this." The more you think these thoughts, the more you believe it's true. The truth is none of us was born a natural speaker.

When the little inner critic starts making noise, what you should be saying to that voice is, "Thanks for sharing!" Don't let your inner critic sway you from staying in action.

There's nothing wrong with being a little nervous before you speak. In fact, a little bit of adrenalin is good because it keeps you alert, focused, and energized as you speak.