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How to Make Your Speech Memorable and Impactful As A Public Speaker
As a public speaker, the reason you are before your audience is to give.
And your giving should be impactful and memorable.
So, what are the things you are meant to give or share with them?
1. Give them Gifts.
Gift speaks. Gift endears you to others.
As a public speaker, in order for your audience to remember you and endear them to you, gift is one way to do that.
How do you do that?
• Take along small items that you can give away especially if they relate to what you do or the topic you would be speaking on.
• Give them items you use as props. You can buy things along, no matter how small to give those who answer your questions or those who make contributions or those who participated actively in your talk.
• Give your books. If you have a booklet or a book written, you can also give few copies as gifts.
2. Give them Stories.
Stories are tools speakers trade with. They are essential tools.
How do you do this?
• Use your personal stories when necessary. Use them to illustrate your points and also when you are starting your talk.
• Use stories from other people.
• Use stories from books you have read.
• Use stories from observations and things you have heard.
• Use stories you create by yourself. Do you know that Jesus created stories.
3. Give them Information.
When you stand up to speak, what you share or give is information.
Information about what they should know.
Information about what is happening.
Information that are facts and figures.
How do you do this?
• You do deep research on your topic. For you to share or give information, you must have taken in enough information. What you don’t have you cannot share.
• You read wide.
• You talk with others to get more information.
• Ask questions.
4. Give them Insight.
Most times, what we share with people is information.
But great speakers go beyond information to sharing deep transformational insight.
How do you do this?
• Often, practice the act of solitude. In solitude, you get to a point you mine insight from within.
• When you read, slow down, take off your eyes and ponder (think deep) on the phrase, or sentence, or paragraph you just read. By doing that, it helps you get insight into what you read. These insights during this period will come up when you are before your audience.
• Make sure you always have a note book to jott down the insights that show up for easy references.
• In your everyday talk with family members, friends, colleagues, significant other, etc, share those insights with them when it is appropriate. While you are doing this, they become part of you and when you are before and audience, it would be easier for you to share.
• When you watch movies, watch out for insightful lessons.
• When you travel, pick us insightful lessons along the way.
All these would become available to you to share with your audience at anytime.
5. Give them Perspectives.
As a public speaker, your perspectives matter.
For instance, five people could be given this topic, How to Manage A Pharmacy, what would make their speeches unique are the personal perspectives each speaker brings into the talk.
It is very difficult to have two people with the same (equal) perspectives on the same topic.
How do you develop your perspective?
• When you read or see things, ask yourself how that relates to your life and orientation.
• Don’t be rigid on issues, be flexible in order to take in other perspectives.
• Always practice what I call, Always leave a gap. It means don’t always run to conclusion. Be patient to find out things before concluding. Hear from other sources.
• Travel beyond your boundaries. When you do, it changes your perspective about some issues, people, ideas, etc.
• Have conversations with people who you are not normally used to. Ask them questions that you would normally assume answers to. Genuinely be open to hear their own views without judging.
• Expose yourself to information beyond your field and domain.
6. Give them Examples.
Examples are samples.
Examples are exhibits.
Examples are visibles.
Examples are typicals (types).
Examples are identicals.
As a public speaker, show them what you are talking about. Give them look alikes.
Give them things they can relate to and with.
Let them see what you are talking about.
With that, they can easily remember and when they see such, they can recall your speech.
How do you do that?
• As much as you can, look for items (objects) that you can use as illustrations (props) in your talk. These items could be anything provided they support and explain your speech.
• The above could be inanimate or animate objects.
• Call up volunteers from the audience to demonstrate your point or story.
• You can also use yourself as an example.
7. Give them Jokes.
When people people laugh, endorphins are secreted. Endorphins are feel-good chemicals.
That helps you to create rapport with them and also bond with them.
It draws people together in ways that trigger healthy physical and emotional changes in the body.
Of course you know that laughter strengthens immune system, boosts mood, diminishes pain, and protects from the damaging effects of stress.
A great speak would injects jokes into his speech.
How do you do this?
• Laugh at yourself, often; self deprecating jokes.
• Create jokes about a know issue in the society that wouldn’t offend any of your audience.
• Create jokes out of trending issues in the society.
• Just use your imagination to create little, little jokes.
• You can also use jokes from comedians.
8. Give them Solutions.
Why are they (audience) there?
They want solutions.
Solution to pressing issues.
Solutions to ideas that they would be confronting.
Solutions to personal issues.
Solutions to career issues.
Solutions to marital issues.
Solutions!
That depends on what you are speaking on.
But know that sometime, when you are speaking on career, some people might even find an insight to solving a marital problem.
When you stand before an audience, know that you are carrying solutions to some people’s problem.
Your words are solutions.
Your insights are solutions.
Your personal story can solve someone’s problem.
Your example can be a trigger to someone implementing an action step.
Etc.
How do you do this?
• Engrave it deep into your mind that you are a solution. Let that guide you always.
• Always proffer solutions to issues you are addressing in your talks.
• Research (search) for solutions to problems you are addressing in your talk.
• Give practical examples in your talks.
• Ruminate for answers to questions you and the world are always asking.
• Always document ideas that come to you, they will become answers to some people’s problem.
9. Give them Images.
This is close to “Give them Examples”.
Almost similar. But images could come on slides, drawn, imagined, projected, movies, etc.
If a movie speaks to your point, you can show them a clip of it. If the picture you saw somewhere will buttress what you want to explain, take it along.
Images stick. I would advice use images that they can relate to. Images they can identify. If not, you will have to explain or give a footnote.
How do you do this?
• Become a collector of images. Keep them. They would become useful.
• When you travel, get mementoes. They could tell stories for you when you need them.
• You can also draw whatever you want to explain no matter how funny or weird it looks. Laugh over it.
These are nine things you can give or share with your audience when you are before them to speak.