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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

5 Effective Ways to start your speech

According to J.F Kennedy, “Public speaking is the art of diluting a two-minute idea with a two-hour vocabulary”. Inasmuch as public speaking is an art there are ways and methods to it that can spell the difference between a great performer and an average one. When it comes to making a presentation, the truth of the matter is that your audience does not necessary have to wait till the beginning of your speech before they decide whether or not to listen to you. Anyway there are some time-tested methods that you can employ to make your audience captivated right from the beginning of your presentation and some of them are highlighted below.

Question - You can start your speech with a question. This is one method that never seems to fail and you are sure of grabbing their attention with a question especially if is related to the subject matter of the presentation. Starting your speech with a question helps to engage your audience mentally as they will seek to find answers to the question you asked even if you do not specifically request a response from them.
Quotation - A quotation from a famous personality or authority on a subject matter is a good way to start your speech especially if the quotation is related to the contents of your speech. For example when giving a speech on leadership you may consider an apt quote from a famed leadership expert.
Witty Saying -A witty saying at the beginning of your presentation might be the way to go if you need to do some ice breaking. Sometimes some humorous remark might just be all you need to get your audience to connect with you and listen attentively to what you have to say. The kind of atmosphere in the hall might determine to a large extent if this is what you need to start your presentation.
Statistics - This kind of approach is most beneficial if you are supposed to give an informational speech. This could also apply for a persuasive speech depending on what the objective of the speech is but in all, using statistics is an unbeatable way to start a speech especially if they could be used to elicit an emotional response from your audience.
Personal Experience - Sometimes it is best to reveal the human angle to your presentations as your audience might just need this to bond with you. Personal stories are a winner every day as someone in the audience might just be able to identify with your experiences.

Remember you are not responsible for the state in which you meet your audience but you are solely responsible for the way in which you leave them. If you can grab the attention of your audience right from the start and keep them glued to your presentation literally then you are well on your way to receiving your best feedback yet.

Monday, July 12, 2010

4 Flavourings for Great Speeches

Just as a soup needs some condiments and spices to make it tasty and sweet to the taste, a speech also needs some flavouring to make it more appealing to the audience. Here are a few time-tested speech additives that may just hold the key to the wow factor you desire in your presentations. Using any of these might just be the difference between a dry and boring presentation on the one hand and a very interesting and exciting one on the other one.

Metaphor - This is used to depict the relationship between two things in a most unusual or exciting manner. It is one literary vehicle that great speakers have a tendency to use especially since it is considered to be a graphic use of language in the most explicit sense. If you need to add some spice to your speech then you might consider using some metaphorical expressions in your speech and your audience will be sure to love you for it. There are no secrets to using metaphors in your speech as you just have to identify the unique relationship you want to exploit and then think of the most appropriate expression that will pass across your message the best way possible.
Personal Story - People love to know that they are listening to someone just like them who goes through the same things they go through. Telling a personal story might just be a good way to connect with some members of your audience as they just might be going through the same situation or may have gone through it in the past. When you share some of your experiences in your speech so long as there is some correlation with the subject matter you identify with people and they also identify with you. Everyone wants to be able to say they can identify with what you are saying and that you are not far removed from their realities whether real or imagined.
Humour - A little humour might just be the salve you need to apply to your presentation for it to be more appealing to your audience. Your best bet is to see humour in everything and to seize the moment if you are the spontaneous type. If not you just might need to have some jokes and witty sayings prepared in advance and for specific times during the course of your presentation. No matter how interesting a subject matter is anything can cause your audience to be distracted and some humour might just be what you need to fire up their interest again.
Analogy - This is very useful when you need to create a pictorial representation of the message you are trying to pass across in the minds of your audience. For the most part it is very important to engage your audience right from the start so there is a need to engage them mentally when listening to your presentation and one of the best ways to do this is to give them an analogy to figure out so long as it will help your message to be clearer to the audience.

Try these and you will be sure to see the difference in your ratings.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Tips to being the competent Master of Ceremonies

A viable stream of income from public speaking entails providing master of ceremonies services to clients and other interested parties. If you have a public speaking career and want to veer into this aspect which could prove lucrative if you know how to market your brand properly then you have come to the right place.
Whether it is a wedding, a birthday party, a seminar, a dinner or some other function or event; your job as the master of ceremonies could be a lot easier and better if you would apply the following tips:

The first thing you need to understand is that being a master of ceremonies is actually public speaking but with a few other intrinsic details added to the mix so this piece will take for granted that the reader already knows one or two things about the art of public speaking.
Language - The effectiveness of good communication can only be judged to be on the high side when the intended reaction from the audience or recipients has been obtained. Simply put you should have the ability to communicate your message using the simplest language possible.
Knowledge - Increasing your knowledge base is a fundamental requirement if you really want to be a world class master of ceremonies. Your audiences will most likely comprise people from all walks of life and with different experiences and backgrounds. Take for instance when you need to be the host at a seminar for lawyers would you not acquaint yourself with the legal profession assuming you have a different academic background? There is no crime in knowing something about everything.
Charisma and Confidence - These are innate qualities that you need to take time to nurture and develop to the utmost. I have never seen a master of ceremonies who was not both confident and charismatic at the same time. The best way to increase your confidence and charisma is to know your personal style and identify what works best for you.
Use of Humour - There can never be too much of humour in this case and depending on the kind of event it might just be the tool you need to carry the audience along. All you need to do is know and develop your own style of humour and use it to effect. It costs nothing to practise it on friends for the purpose of getting honest feedback.
Be the link - For every event there is always a chain of activities otherwise called an agenda. The competent master of ceremonies is the one who can create a link from one activity to the next so as to give a seamless presentation. There should be no vacuum as this link will enable for a smooth transition from the beginning to the end. This is where personal creativity with words plays a vital role.
Connection with audience - There are certain questions you need to have answers to for example, ‘What are their likes and possible dislikes?’ ‘Are there any common interests?’ ‘What languages do they speak?’ What are their educational backgrounds? A business dinner in the financial services sector will most likely attract a different audience from one in the entertainment industry for instance. 




Who says you cannot be the most-sought-after and in-great-demand master of ceremonies you want to be?
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