Are you a guru in your professional field but have hard times when it is time to express your knowledge in public? Do you consider an impossible mission to convince an audience of the importance of your services? Do not worry; many people are in the same situation as yours. Nerves, fear of making a fool of yourself or lack of preparation may be a handicap for the development of your career or an obstacle for your business improvement.For these reasons, in Lexington we give you the keys for you to become an excellent speaker, someone able to capture the attention of your audience, whether to negotiate with customers or suppliers, in work meetings, shareholder assemblies, small groups, or even before a packed auditorium.1. Prepare your message: make a well-organized, clear and concise speech, bear in mind what is your target and what audience you are targeting. A good start is important, but a good conclusion, which summarizes the most important points of your intervention, is key to ensure that the message has been perfectly captured.2. The audience is not your enemy: often, the fear of facing a specific audience is due to our insecurity or fear to deal with an unpleasant reaction. That is why you have to consider that the audience is formed by persons who are interested in the issue you are presenting, and that they are willing to learn from your experience and knowledge.3. Express your self with naturalness and breath calmly: use a simple language and try to be yourself. Avoid boring your audience with technicalities or excessive data. Try not to extend yourself more than what is necessary in order to keep the audience’s interest.4. Do not read: use some back up, such as schemes, graphics or images, but do not base all your speech on them. Remember that body language is very important, and that the visual contact with your audience is the key in order to make a credible speech.5. Practice your speech again and again: experts affirm that, far from being an innate quality, the ability to speak in public is acquired and improved by training yourself, so do not hesitate to record yourself in order to see what to mend. Other option would be to present your speech to your friends to see what doubts appear make your message better.
It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech
Dale Carnegie