|

Author:
Jim M. Allen

1. Be Yourself

It's great to watch other successful speakers, to see what they do and how they do it. To be a great speaker in your own right requires you to develop your own style, to speak using your own voice. Be yourself when you speak and you can't help but be successful.

2. Be Bold

You might think that it takes boldness just to stand up and start talking, and it does, but there are plenty of speakers out there who come across like timid mice. Be bold as a speaker, confident in your abilities. Practice every day, give speeches whenever you can.

3. Be different

Successful speakers aren't like everybody else. There's something that sets them apart. Makes them stand out. They're the speakers who do more than just stand in the front of the room and talk at you.

4. Be funny

Successful speakers know how to be funny, that is: they know when and where to use humor in their presentations... and they aren't afraid to do so.

5. Be engaging

Listening to a speech is, for most people, a passive activity. Successful speakers involve their audiences and converse with them so that it's a conversation, not a talking-to.

6. Be positive

No matter what the subject, successful speakers are always positive with their audiences. They help their audiences learn what to do as opposed to what NOT to do. They focus on the upside, not the downside.

7. Be challenging.

Lastly, great speakers always challenge their audiences to do great things. And again, it doesn't matter what the subject. A successful speaker gives you the know-how and the challenge to make your life more enjoyable and more rewarding everyday.

©2001 Jim M. Allen

About the Author
Jim Allen is a professional life & business coach. For more ideas, subscribe to his free bi-weekly ezine, THE BIG IDEA, by sending a blank email to: SubscribeGA@CoachJim.com

| Article Keywords: Professional Speaker

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Professional Speaker... How to Scare the "Gooey" Out of a New Public Speaker 95% of the population has some type of fear of public speaking, and a great deal of this nervousness or anxiety comes from well-meaning friends or coworkers who offer constructive criticism as a way to help a new presenter improve his/her public speaking. Public speaking is not unlike any other new skill that is developed in that when we try to speak in front of a group for the first time, every one of us will be nervous (just like the first time you used a computer, or the first time you drove a car, or the first time you rode a bicycle.) What happens next, though, usually determines whether the first-time speaker will gain confidence or become more nervous. Any time we try something new and have what we consider to be a success, we gain confidence in that skill. Any time we try something new and feel like we failed, we diminish confidence. Think about learning to speak in front of a group as we do about riding a bicycle. When a kid hops on a bicycle, rides for a few yards, then falls over, the Mom or Dad, usually says something like, “Look how far you rode! Let’s see if you can go farther next time,” not “You did good, HOWEVER, toward the end there, you really tapered off, so you should probably keep pedaling a little longer and make sure you keep a firm grip on the handlebars, and oh yeah, by the way, you looked a little shaky, so keep your posture upright so you can have better control of the bike.” Most Nervousness in Public Speaking Comes From Perceived Failures Created From Constructive Criticism HOWEVER, that’s the way most friends and coworkers coach speakers. We tell the speaker something good, but then we follow up with either a BUT or a HOWEVER. What that tells the speaker is, “What I just told you was just to make you feel better, BUT here is...