An important element of persuasive public speaking is personality. Does your personality attract or repel your audience?

Usually listeners can easily sense a presenter’s attitude toward them.
Does he like people or, while he speaks, does he have a hidden dislike for his hearers? Is his smile genuine? Does he really mean what he says, or is he merely putting on an act? Typically, although not always, an audience can spot this.
Ethical speaking is not acting. Instead it is a sincere transmission of a person’s truthful thoughts and feelings. Let a speaker be fair with himself and others. If he desires to act, he belongs in live theatre. There the audience expect pretense, but a convincing presenter should reveal his true self to audiences.
When a speaker’s congeniality and friendliness reveal a genuine liking for people – all people – an audience captures his spirit and is predisposed to react positively.
Will Roger’s passion for people – all people – was contagious. His genuine attitude, “I never met a man I didn’t like,” was highly persuasive and added much to his worldwide popularity. Although Rogers was a humorist and his speeches were
not always supposed to be persuasive, his personal quality of friendliness and congeniality is a convincing element which inspires an audience to recognize a presenter as a human being. And this of course is required before a person can wish to have his ideas and feelings acknowledged.
Listeners are normally willing to like a presenter who appreciates them. On the other hand they might ignore an unfriendly presenter.
Whenever a speaker does not like a particular person in his audience, his hatred or wrath is sensed by other listeners, causing them to question silently, “Why are you angry at me?” -
This is somewhat like an manager who, after having an disagreement with, his wife, passes his unpleasant disposition around to everyone in the office. Or like a businessman in a speaking training course who.stated, “I hate all females!” ‘His declaration was sincere. The hatred was clearly evident in his face and tone of voice. He really hated just 1 individual, but – his ex-wife who had left him suddenly to marry another man. However because his wife was a female he had shifted his hate for her to all women. And in fact the men in the audience sensed his undesirable attitude which is surely not a persuasive element in public speaking.

Do you consider how you feel towards an audience before you speak? If you want to know more tips on successful public speaking please sign up to our free e-course and follow up tips and resources by entering your details in the right side-bard

The words used in public speaking make a big difference to the effectiveness of a speech. Painting pictures with words.

Picture talk! Then minds meet minds. There is understand­ing, attention, interest!

Some words create only general pictures, but others etch vivid, concrete images. “I stood open-mouthed,” for instance, paints a picture of surprise, whereas, “I was surprised” paints nothing. Or so much the mind is cluttered.

Listeners can see a fat man waddle or wobble easier than they can see him go to the front door of his cabin.

A speaker should choose and use words that create vivid moving pictures which cause listeners to see and feel clearly
exactly what he means — words that cut, sting, stare, glare, grind, shock, slush, smother, soothe, or cuddle. Words as real as pizza
pie, soft as a maiden’s blush, or seedy as the hairy wart on grand­ pa’s weather-beaten nose.                          .

Never tell about an event, person, or thing. Show the event happening. Relive it. Picture the person as he really is. Make the thing so real listeners can see, feel, touch, taste or smell it. Create graphic colored, moving, mental pictures. And paint them red when necessary! Paint them gay and bright, blue, or as dark as midnight in a cyclone cellar, according to the mood which is suitable for the speech material.

Speaking should be clear and specific. An author, Rudyard Kipling, said his six “serving men” helped him in this respect. The servants he referred to are waiting to serve anyone. They are who, when, where, what, why, and how? When a speaker answers those questions specifically (not in any special order) in his il­lustrations, his speaking leaves the rambling weed fields of gener­alities to become as real and clear-cut as a row of Irish potatoes that has just been hoed by a careful gardener.

What words do you used when you are public speaking to an audience of one or to a larger gathering? Do you use picture talk?

Can you can become an exceptional presenter? I believe anyone can that is truly serious can become one.  So does Timothy Koegel author of The Exceptional Presenter.

Timothy takes a wider view of presenting than just those situations where you are presenting in a formal occasion such as a keynote speech. His view is that we are always presenting whether we are one to one, small groups, leaving a voice mail. The book is for the average person.

Being able to an effective communicator is one of the skills that organizations are looking for and is the number one skill needed for career advancement in any field.

Below is a video that discusses the first 3 chapters of the book and gives a brief insight to how practical the book is to use.

The book is more than just a good read, it is like a workshop that gives you the information and exercises you can use to implement in becoming an exceptional presenter.

Exceptional Presenter Characteristics

To help Timothy Koegel uses an acronym – OPEN UP to provide the 6 steps to be an exceptional presenter

O – Organized,

P – Passionate,

E – Engaging

N- Natural

U – Understand

P – Practice

In summary, I think this is a book for anyone who is anxious when presenting and wants to calm those fears and improve their communications skills so they can give winning presentations whatever the occasion from public speaking to one to one situations such as asking for a pay rise.

You can get the book here – The Exceptional Presenter by Timothy Koegel

Being able to speak well in conversation and public speaking are  top reasons for advancement in a career.  Being skillful in speaking gives your career a big boost to getting to the top of your field.

Consider many of the people at the top of their field and their speaking skills have helped them enormously – such as Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet and Oprah Winfrey. Here is a post that shows how Warren Buffet used public speaking to further his career: Warren Buffet And Public Speaking

Public speakers are looked upon as leaders. The people who lead a field  are men who speak with confidence and fluency. More people have talked themselves into leadership than any other skills combined. Recently, the speaking talents of a young Senator from Illinois elevated him to the top job in the world today.

But many people fear speaking up and so this hinder their advancement in their careers or even stalls it. Being able to speak well and persuasively is not the only skill needed for promotion but without it you can be overlooked for the raise or job you deserve or being ignored by your boss.

Many people have been able to go from being poor speakers to being effective communicators to groups of any size. They have managed to overcome their fears of public speaking or speaking up in other situations. Others have managed to overcome stammers, e.g. Dan Kennedy, King George VI, Demosthenes, to be effective in public speaking.

To find out more about being effective in public speaking and conversation to help you advance your career and more, check out The Art Of Great Conversation

You’ve filled your speech with facts, illustrations and anecdotes etc, but there is still one more thing to do to convince your audience to act.

After a speaker has given an audience enough illustrations, quotations, and facts to convince a moron or a Philadelphia lawyer that his ideas are reasonable and sensible, that they should be accepted, to persuade he must make his listeners want to act upon his ideas. He should stimulate desire for the plan he has offered.
Hearts as well as minds must be won. But the method is somewhat different.
Perhaps the best way to stimulate desire is to picture the joy, comfort, security, satisfaction, or any other great benefit which will come as a result of doing the very things a speaker proposes. Desire is usually stimulated when a speaker looks in¬to the near future and paints vivid pictures of satisfaction. These pictures must, of course, be believeable but they should be painted brightly and with much positive spirit. They are most effective when listeners can actually feel in spirit, along with the speaker, the events happening.
Here, for example, is some “desire” from a speech called
Try Enthusiasm. It was prepared for an audience of young am¬bitious businessmen:
When you were unenthusiastic you’d creep out of bed hi the morning with a face like a dark cloud, frown your way to the window, peek around the shade and groan, “Good Lordl — morning.”
But you have become enthusiastic! You jump out of bed as if it were on fire, hustle to the window, throw up the shade, grin from ear to ear, pound your chest like Tarzan and shout, “Good morning, Lord!”
You whistle your way into the bathroom, sing in the tub, and grin at the big lug in the mirror.
You smell the bacon sizzling and the coffee perking. Mmmm, good! You know your sweet little wife is on the job.
Your voice is loaded with good cheer when you call, “Good morning, Dear! How are you?”
She may be too shocked to answer. But you don’t mind. You hum as you reach for the after shaving lotion.
This is not like the old you. Your wife, wide-eyed, peeks in the door and looks suspiciously. But she sees only a bottle of shaving lotion.
Your smile is about a foot wide and your voice is like bells as you say, “Are you looking forward to a good day, Honey? Gee, it’s great to be alive, isn’t it?”
The steaming coffee and prize bacon is waiting.
“Darling, this bacon is just right!” you exclaim. “I told the boys at the office yesterday what a wonderful cook you are. Here, have some toast!”
Yes, you are Mr. Enthusiasm, himself.
It’s time for you to go to work, so you kiss the little woman good-by. You see a new light in her eyes. Her arms cling tighter. And her kiss now, instead of being a dutiful wifely peck, is a lover’s good-by. Mmmmmm!
You walk as if you own the town, and you grab more than your share of God’s good air.
At the elevator you call to the boy, “Hi, Charley!” And you beam, while you work.
You know people are saying, “What’s come over the guy?”
But you don’t mind, because you know. You’ve simply be¬come enthusiastic about living and you don’t care who knows it.
A few weeks pass. And the Big Boss calls you into his office. He’s almost smiling.
“A raise? For me? Oh, boy!”
You hustle home and whisper the good news into your little wife’s pretty ear.
“Oh, Mr. Wonderful!” she cries. And we’ll have to censor that kiss.
That evening you take the family out again for dinner.
A few days later you drive home in a big new car. You toot the horn and the family rushes out.
“Why, what’s this?” falters your wife.
“Our new car!”    ’
“But Dear, do you think we can afford it?”
“Afford it, Honey?. This is just a beginning!”
You  are sure because you feel and know the power of real ‘ enthusiasm. Yes, Mr. Wonderful, you know because your nature is charged with the dynamite of enthusiasm.
This approach, for a casual reader or for someone who had not heard the preceding material of that speech, may seem to be too extreme but it was well-suited and effective for the young businessmen.

Let me know what you think about this? Do you think hearts do indeed need to be won?

There are a number of things an effective speaker will check to reduce the number of things that may compete with them when speaking.

As a favorable appearance can be helpful, an able speaker is always clean and neat. And he never wears anything so unusual that it attracts prolonged attention from an audience. No wise speaker will invite unnecessary competition against the persuasiveness of his ideas and feelings.
This competition may come in other ways, too. Pictures, or novel items such as a stuffed deer’s head or college pennants on the wall behind a speaker may attract some listeners’ complete attention. A row of dignitaries sitting behind a speaker can be¬come a distracting element. One person may lean over and whisper to another, or even if one scratches his nose he will get some attention which he really doesn’t deserve. When a speaker can he should tactfully move people and clap-trap from behind him. The platform and everything around it should emphasize the speaker’s ideas rather than steal attention from them. At least, insofar as possible, the setting should favor the speaker’s purpose.
Physical conditions in an auditorium can definitely influence persuasion. Naturally when people are shivering they are not in a very agreeable mood. And when a room is too warm or air is stale listeners may become drowsy. Obviously persuasion doesn’t thrive in a sleepy atmosphere. Also uncomfortable chairs, chairs that are too soft, or poor lighting may make persuasion more difficult than it would be under ideal conditions.
Of course a speaker may not always be able to control these conditions but he should be constantly alert to make the entire setting as conducive as possible for persuasion.

Getting a checklist together can help you make sure conditions help you speak in public with persuasiveness and confidence.

What makes for successful speaking? Here are some of the ingredients that make a presentation successful-

Successful speaking is a shared experience. An able speaker cannot be a miser with ideas and inspiration. Instead of having a selfish, unconcerned attitude he is intensely interested and eager to share his knowledge and experiences — not to glorify
himself, but to bring a mutual glow of understanding and inspir­ation to his listeners.
A speaker who has little or no desire to share his ideas or experiences soon makes his attitude evident. For instance, a col­lege freshman named Jane spoke in a basic speech course about how thrilled she was when she attended her first formal party.
“I never had such” a beautiful-dress-before,” she said, in limp dishrag tones. Actually some speakers would have spoken more enthusiastically about a dishrag.
“The orchestra was wonderful,” she declared. But who could have believed it from the way she spoke?
Then she told about a terrible automobile accident they had when returning home. But it sounded more like a peaceful ride in a little red wagon.
She was not much interested in her subject and really she had no desire to share what little interest she did have with her classmates. Naturally there was no sharing and the speech flopped miserably.
But another girl named Joyce sparkled as she talked with in­tense interest about her home state, Kentucky. Blue skies. Blue eyes. Blue grass — she must have been in love with every blade of it. And she eagerly wanted listeners to share that love. And race horses! We could almost hear them romping around the turn. She “sold” that “you-all” state because she was competely and sincerely sold on it herself. Also she had an eager desire to share this state with all the listeners.
When a person speaks from both his mind and the depths of his heart, with all the sincere enthusiasm of his nature, his speaking will get favorable results. Wendell Phillips, a profes­sional speaker, would go any place, any time, and speak free of charge against slavery. Could anyone doubt his effectiveness? Would Horace Greely have had any difficulty speaking on the same subject?
A man who spoke occasionally on safety was only mildly in­terested in his subject, and he had but a synthetic desire to share this interest. Consequently his speaking had little effect upon audiences. But when his little son was hit and killed by a reck­less -driver he had a deep experience with a reality of life. This enabled him to put “heart” in his speaking and he spoke with effectiveness that was not possible before. In fact he dedicated his life to the cause of safety.

It is a useful exercise to compare good speeches with speeches that have ample room for improvement. By doing this it is possible to learn from both examples to improve your own public and persuasive speaking skills.

Visual aids can make a big impact in your speech if they are used the right way. Here are some further examples of how to use them for the most impact:

A young businessman started a speech by blowing a blast on a referee’s whistle and asking, “How would you like to hear that early in the morning when you are dreaming of bright blue eyes and Tennessee moonlight? Or would you rather hear this?”
Then he played You’re in the Army Now on a toy bugle. While the audience was still smiling he told how he had used that bugle in the army to promote good human relations between himself, as charge of quarters, and soldiers in the barracks.
He had seen the soldiers wake up frowning and cursing under their breath when they heard the shrill, irritating whistle. But the toy bugle actually caused them to smile as they awoke. And on the drill field sometimes a Tennessean would grin as he pointed him out and said, “There’s that feller with the funny whistle.” His point was that good human relations are effective even in a tough place like the army.
Visual aids not only get attention, but they may also be used to help make a difficult subject clear and easily understood. A high school boy illustrated this truth when he used a toy balloon to explain jet propulsion. He blew up the balloon, turned it loose, and said, “Jet propulsion acts like that.” And quickly he chalked a rough likeness of the balloon on the blackboard. He also drew a lopsided rectangle to represent a jet motor. As he scribbled with the chalk he piped, “Grandma Moses taught me
to draw in ten easy lessons.”
Then by referring to the drawing, and in simple language, he explained jet propulsion so that nearly everyone in the au¬dience could understand it.
Maybe the Chinese who said, “One demonstration is worth a thousand words,” wasn’t talking through his queue. Demon¬strate!
Although a speaker is not expected to be a magician, listeners welcome visual aids any time during a speech because things furnish interesting variety from so many words. Such variety rests minds and makes ideas more vivid. Besides people will more likely remember what they see than what they hear. Using a tan¬gible object in connection with an idea will surely make that idea more memorable. -     . ‘   ‘
Using common, aids such as a pencil, handkerchief, book, news¬paper and so on, can be helpful. A simple aid such as an old-fashioned bird’s-eye match will help an audience “see” as well as hear a speaker say, “He started the fire with a big match like grandpa used.”
Several objects can be used throughout a speech. A speaker can hardly use too many if they make good sense and are in line with the points he is making.

In my net post on using visual aids in persuasive speaking I’ll talk about the big mistake to avoid when using visual aids in your speech.

In public speaking one of the keys is to get and keep your audience’s attention.  Here is a way to get their attention quickly that uses an advertising secret.

Advertisers know the value of moving objects. Notice the many lively neon lights inviting people into front doors. Every­thing from multicolored dancing pigs to starry rockets. But how active are exit signs? One never dances a jig. Customers must be attracted to enter, so “Come on in” signs are made to grab attention. As a departing customer adds nothing to company-funds, exit signs are made no more attractive than necessary.

Objects which appear or move in unusual ways compel at­tention. For instance, J. C. Penney store managers have displayed a floating hat in their front windows. Air pressure from a con­cealed source caused a man’s hat to “float” in the air. A person who is at all observant could hardly pass one of those windows without noticing the floating hat, and consequently the brief ad­vertising statements about it.

Speakers can use this natural attention-getting principle to advantage. For instance, an insurance agent, who was taking a course in business and professional speaking, used a set of “magic”‘ false teeth to show that many people talk without saying much.

As he tossed the teeth upon a table, a hidden spring caused them to bounce around and go, clack-a-tee, clack-a-tee, clack, clack, clackl

“That’s all some people do!” declared the speaker. “They just ‘yak-a-tee-yak!’ ”

Another speaker used a similar set o£ teeth to “break the ice” after being introduced to an audience. He said, “I must be care­ful what I say tonight. I’ve found it, pays, ever since a man in one of my audiences looked at me with narrow eyes like a TV cowboy about ready to draw his six-shooter. Very slowly he put his hand into his coat pocket, like this. Was he going to shoot me? He pulled from his pocket not a gun, but this.” When the speaker displayed the clattering teeth the audience laughed. And they laughed again when a well-known dentist called from the front row, “Say, I’ll buy those!”

Think about how you can use a visual aid in your next speech to break the ice or illustrate a point. I’ll follow up with some more examples of visual aids speakers have used in their speeches in my next post.

Preparation in public speaking is key to a successful speech.  It helps build self -confidence.

However, skimpy, half-baked preparation causes lack of self-confidence and encourages forgetting. Adequate preparation will also prevent rambling from the subject or bringing in unimportant, trivial material.

Talking well without notes is not a lazy method of delivery. It does require some more work and preparation than the other methods, but surely the, rewards are greater. When a person speaks effectively without notes he becomes what Quintilian would have called, “A gentleman conversing.”

A speech should be talked to an audience much like you would tell an interesting story to a neighbor across the back yard fence. Suppose the neighbor left his hearing aid in the house. Then you will talk about twice as loudly as you would in ordinary conversation. This same principle applies to public speaking. It is “enlarged” conversation.

The speaker must speak up and out so that the listener farthest away can hear without having to make an effort to do so. Listeners who cannot hear a speaker distinctly will simply “drop out of the race.” A speaker cannot justly expect to hold them under such conditions. This is a simple principle, yet how often it is violated!

On the other hand,’ a speaker who shouts constantly or vocally blasts his audience will probably not be persuasive. Such talking is usually not conversational. It produces a monotony of force which is just as distracting and disgusting as speaking that cannot be heard. Speaking force should be natural, in keeping with the situation and expressed feeling.

So if you take the time to prepare your public speaking and presentation occasions will go much better than if you leave it. It is important to see each time you talk as a learning experience and a time to learn what works and what doesn’t. It is like any skill that is worth learning – it doesn’t happen all at once and it is through doing that it is learnt.

Stories play a big part in people’s lives. People can relate to them and remember them better than facts and figures. Here is a tip about what type of story works best.

Even the most timid and cultured people enjoy some type of conflict. This natural tendency may have been the one that prompted a prim bachelor girl to say, “I like to read novels because I can associate with such daring people without ruin¬ing my reputation.”
How much conflict, dramatic action, or suspense is in a usual trip on a bus? None. A person simply buys a ticket, gets on the bus, sits if there is room, and finally, arrives safely at his destina¬tion.
Would telling this be interesting speech material? No. Yet how many speakers simply relate as part of their speeches, dull travelogues in which nothing “different” is seen or done.
Thousands of people buy bus tickets every day. Most buyers always get the right change from ticket agents. But one young businessman did not. That little unusual event was the beginning of a human interest illustration which the young man used to start a speech called “Hair-trigger Thinking.”
This is the illustration he used:
It was time for the bus to have been gone two minutes ago when I rushed into the bus depot at Kankakee and said to the agent, “Round trip to Chicago, please!”
I put my last ten on the, counter, grabbed my ticket, the change, and hurried to the bus.
Just as I was about to sit back for a somewhat comfortable ride I looked at the money in my hand and saw that the agent had •given me change for a five instead of a ten.
Usually my thinking is about like molasses coming out of grandpa’s brown jug on a winter morning. But with five dollars hanging in the balance I got the old gray matter in high gear.
Of course there was only one thing to do — make a dash for the five, hope I would get it, and pray that the driver could wait.
“Be back in a jiffy,” I called to the driver as I left the bus.
I broke all track records getting back into that station.
Yes, the agent said he had noticed his error just after I had left. Honest man!
Clutching tightly that long green picture of Abe Lincoln, I got back on the bus much faster than I had the first time.
Somehow I don’t think the driver appreciated my hair-trigger thinking and action. But it saved me five dollars. And that isn’t hay for a young fellow who doesn’t have a rich uncle.

Stories are great for illustrating a point and listeners are more likely to remember a story and thereby the point than they are facts and figures, but do try to make them interesting.

Here is a view on reading a speech and comparing it to a marriage proposal.

Reading a speech is like leaning on crutches. Talking with notes is at least using a cane. The best way for a speaker to come before an audience is with nothing in his hands, but with his heart and mind so full of his subject he could talk fluently all day about it.
Imagine a young ‘man with one handful of note cards proposing marriage to his sweetheart. He looks at a card and says, “Darling, in the first place I have admired you, lo these many years.” Then he looks at another card and continues, “Secondly …” And by the time he reaches, “Thirdly,” how does the girl feel?
Of course people in an audience may not want to feel that a speaker is their fiance, but they would like to know that the speaker is interested enough in them to prepare his speech well, that he has an eager desire to share his thoughts and feelings with them.
When a person can talk “from his heart,” without memorizing, there is nothing in his way to mar direct communication. Furthermore such speaking is more likely to be like animated, enthusiastic conversation than any other style of delivery.
But without notes a speaker might forget. Yes, we sacrifice some advantages for more vital ones. When a speaker chooses the right subject, however — one in which he is deeply interested, and willing to share — usually he won’t have much difficulty re¬membering. He should mull the subject over in his mind and practice the speech until it has become as much a part of him as his eyes and ears.

What are your thoughts on reading a speech? How about read your presentation from a powerpoint slide? What is the most persuasive way to deliver your speech?

There are many different ways you can use to help keep your speech on track. Here are a few examples:

Some speakers use numerous note cards. These require considerable handling which may distract an audience’s attention, to some extent at least, from the speaker’s ideas. A less obtrusive method is to use a standard sheet of typing paper for the notes. After this paper is placed upon a speaker’s stand it need not be touched again until after the speaker has concluded his talk.
There should be enough notes to jog a speaker’s memory suf¬ficiently. But no more. Leaning heavily upon notes detracts from a direct communication between speaker and audience. Usually a few words on any one point is enough. Simply the letters, T. R., for instance, would remind a speaker to1 use his illustration about Theodore Roosevelt. Mark Twain liked to sketch pictures on his note paper to remind him of points.
Use anything that works for you. The point is not to make an artisticor “correct” outline but one that will help you communicate ideas effectively to an audience.
Never try to hide the notes or to conceal the fact that you are using them, as one speaker is said to have done. He kept the notes in his inside coat pocket. Occasionally he turned from the audience and took a peek. But once he became excited and said, “The next point is … The next point is — Montgomery Ward and Company!”

Have you got any favorite ways you use? Whwt works best for you?

There are many ways to get the attention of an audience by planning your opening carefully.

Each speaker must decide which opening will be his best mental hook for the speech he has planned to deliver and for the audience that will hear it.

Commenting favorably on a local situation, talking about something in which the audience is already deeply interested, or telling a harmless joke on a popular local person (the chairman, perhaps), will also get attention.

Attention must be favorable. A speaker could get undivided attention by literally throwing rotten apples at an audience. But this beginning would not get favorable attention for the speaker. It is never necessary to be ridiculous or melodramatic to get attention and hold it. If a speaker, however, must lean in either the direction of sensationalism or dull, stiff formalism he will be more’ interesting if he favors the former.

Attention comes and goes somewhat like waves on the ocean. A highly able speaker keeps it coming all the time.

Psychologist, William James said, “What holds attention de­termines action.”

Holding attention may not always assure desired action at the completion of a speech, but one conclusion is certain: with­out having attention a speaker cannot reasonably hope to get any type of desired action or decision.

A speaker can be reasonably sure that an effective human interest illustration will hold attention at any point in a speech. Therefore, knowing how to recognize and use such illustrations should help a person speak more effectively.

Have you got any favorite ways to get and keep the attention of your audience?

A question should really cause an audience to think. Questions such as, “Would you like to inherit some money? Do you know what day of the week this is? or, Can you add two and two?” do not require enough thinking to stimulate interest.
On the other hand, a question which is so complex it cannot be understood by an audience will also be unsuitable for a speaker to use. The average listener will simply refuse to think when the process becomes too difficult.
A startling, or unusual statement will usually attract atten¬tion. A businessman applied this principle when he started a speech by saying, “When I tell you this the boss may fire me, but anyway …”
Another speaker started a talk on safety by saying, “Three hundred coffins were shipped into this city yesterday. Will you inhabit one of them before the holiday week-end is over?”
Compare this beginning with a common one such as, “Many people will be killed in accidents over this holiday week-end. It always happens. Be careful or you may be one of the victims.”
Another way to begin a speech effectively is to present a stimulating challenge to an audience, compliment them sincerely, or to tell a new joke’ that is really humorous, well-suited to the occasion, and in harmony with the speaker’s subject.

There is a real power in questions when used the right way in public speaking . They get the audience thinking and get their attention. When you are asking thought provoking questions you are in control. You can lead them to where you want to go.  Have you tried using a question at the  beginning of your speech.

In a previous post I showed how an illustration can be an effective way to begin a speech but:

Of course, using an illustration is not the only effective way to start a speech. A question which causes an audience to think will get attention.
For example, a student speaker started by asking this question, “Do you know how long it takes a fly to crawl from one end of a seven inch banana to the other?”
This was a simple question but it caused listeners to think and wonder. After asking the question the speaker paused for a few moments, giving listeners time to think. Then he answered his own question, “It takes a fly exactly thirty-six seconds to crawl from one end of a banana to the other, because I watched one do it last week in the L, and L Cafe.”
This was the beginning of a very interesting and helpful talk about keeping food clean.
A housewife started a speech called “How to Stretch the Kitchen Dollar,” by pushing a handful of coins from a table into a metal wastebasket and asking at the same time, “Is this hap¬pening in your kitchen?”
The audience willingly watched and listened. In addition to asking a thought stimulating question this speaker used a visual aid which usually gets undivided attention.
This was an interesting beginning, whereas a dull, trite way to start a speech on saving money in the kitchen could be as follows: “Every day, everywhere, people are wasting money in their kitchens. Considering the high cost of living, this, of course, makes staying on a budget very difficult. But I suppose this is not a new trend. According to psychologists, being careless may be a natural trait of humanity, although there are probably different opinions in this respect.” And so on.
This latter method merely presents general opinions. The ideas are not specific. Nothing happens. This approach is somewhat like the .one a college student actually made when he attempted to answer an examination question: “It is, well, on the other hand it could be, but perhaps usually in most cases, it is strictly an enigma.” What an indirect way to say, “I don’t know.”

Have you ever used a question to start your presentation or a speech? How did you get on? Did it make the audience think?

Have you used stories in your speaking? Here is a post on the benefits of using stories when giving a speech and a warning.

The story, anecdote, illustration, example, parable, or whatever it may be called, is very helpful not only at the beginning, but also at other places in a speech. It is so valuable that a series of posts on this blog will tell more about how to find and recognize interesting story material for speeches.
A speaker should use vivid illustrations freely and without apologizing for using them. Some speakers have a habit of saying, “If you will pardon a personal illustration …”
Why should any speaker have to ask an audience’s pardon for using something in his talk which may well be the most interesting part of his speech?
An audience will probably thank a speaker for a good human interest story. They appreciate word pictures, action and suspense instead of so many meaningless general statements.
Personal illustrations which picture the speaker as a big hero, however, should be avoided. Bragging is generally disliked. A speaker should use stories in which he plays a minor part, or at least his importance should not be emphasized.
Try starting your next speech with a lively human interest personal story. Instead of beginning with, “Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking . . . It’s good to see your bright shining faces . . . “We had a pleasant trip coming here this evening,” or any one of a dozen other trite ways you could start, plunge right into a story. Get something happening at once.
Able writers of short stories know they cannot hope to get and hold a reader’s attention unless they make something happen soon. A speaker who hopes to get attention must do likewise. Why waste precious words and audiences’ patience? Too many speakers have already complied with the jingle:
I love its gentle gurgle,
I love its even flow;
I love to wind my mouth up,
I love to let it go —

Without saying anything worthwhile.

Have you used stories when speaking in public or presenting? Do you have any experiences or information you would like to share?

What are the best ways to deliver a presentation or speech that is persuasive and gets the result you want?

Here are some points to consider when giving a speech:-

Obviously to persuade most effectively a speaker must select material (illustrations, quotations, facts, and figures of speech) suitable for the situation and audience, then present this material in an interesting, convincing, persuasive manner.
Will a speaker write his speech word for word and then read it to an audience? Heaven forbid! — unless he has to. Sometimes political, or highly controversial speeches, are read to keep the speaker from being misquoted or sued. Walter Winchell, for instance, has his radio scripts checked and double-checked by attorneys before he reads them to the public.. The average speaker, however, usually does not have to be so exacting.
Shall he memorize his talk then? Not unless he wants to sound like a machine giving a canned speech. Most people can’t memorize well enough to keep from reciting as they speak. Such speaking lacks a conversational tone. Instead of being real talk memorized speaking is more likely to sound like a child learning to read: “My— dog’s — name—is— Carlo. Carlo — can — run. Run — Carlo — run.”
Also, a memorized talk is too easily forgotten. It usually lacks warmth, and surely it does not have that informal, put-them-at-ease quality which is evident in lively conversation. A few professional speakers have successfully used memorized speeches, but most speakers simply do not have the time or patience to perfect a memorized talk. Fortunately there are better methods.
Speak from notes? If you need them;
A speaker may use notes to outline his speech. These notes should be phrases or short sentences to remind the speaker of his illustrations or other supporting material. Quotations may be written out in full and read for accuracy, unless the speaker can quote them from memory without hesitation. When a speaker can remember quotations and facts without the use of notes the effect upon an audience is probably more persuasive. But it is better to read them than to present them in a stumbling, uncertain manner.

What do you think about these points on deliverying a speech? What do you think about reading it or memorizing it? Do you have any experiences you would like to share?

What do you think about enthusiam? Can you use it in your next speech. Here are some real life examples how enthusiasm changed people’s lives:-

When a person finds a cause or subject that grips him to a point where it demands his energy, steals his time, and inspires his soul, then he has something upon which he can really speak enthusiastically. Such a cause or subject usually involves some useful service. Speaking about it will lift one to the heights of enthusiasm and give him the joy of knowing he has done some¬thing really worthwhile in life.
Enthusiasm is a joyous, commendable quality. An enthusiast finds a happiness in his work or service which transcends a dollar mark. He is not a clock-watcher, but works for “love of the game.” In his mind his work, purpose, or subject is the most important one in the world.
This attitude was evident in an uneducated, penniless emi¬grant who came to America from Poland.. He became vitally interested in selling life insurance, however, and educated him¬self as best he could. This young immigrant, according to Dar¬win P. Kingsley, sales manager for the New York Life Insurance Company, would rather sell insurance than eat. .
“I have known him to reserve a table for New Year’s Eve and then give up the party at the last minute to talk insurance to some prospect,” said Kingsley. “He believes in this company and its policies with a fierce intensity. Selling life insurance is the greatest thing in his life.” Because of his unlimited enthu¬siasm this salesman sold more insurance than all forty other men from the same office. Each year he earned more than a hundred thousand dollars in commissions alone. What kind of
speech.could he make on insurance?
Some years later Frank Bettger attributed his tremendous success in selling insurance to enthusiasm. When he spoke about selling, his listeners were persuaded largely because he was so highly enthusiastic about his subject. He advised, “Act enthusias¬tically and you’ll be enthusiastic.” Acting upon his own advice Bettger plunged into selling with all the fervor at his command. He arose from the ranks of failure to lead the entire field for several years. Frank Bettger put “heart” into his work and into his speeches. His acting was real. Enthusiasm became a part of him, not like a fancy coat he might have worn when he called on forty thousand prospects.

Can you use enthusiasm in your next speech? Or do you think enthusiasm is outdated and people do not respond to it today? Let me know what you think

A short post here on the power of enthusiasm to make your speaking more persuasive :-

Edward Everett, in his lecture on Daniel Webster, said that every time Daniel Webster spoke sparks of living fire were emit­ted from either eye. Marshal Foch said, “The human soul on fire is man’s greatest weapon.” And John Wesley, founder of Methodism, said, “I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn!”

What is the fire those men spoke of? It is enthusiasm for a cause, purpose, or subject.

Enthusiasm was derived from two Greek terms, “En Theo,” meaning “In God.” It is a quality of man’s spirit, mind, and emo­tions rather than a physical element. Francis Collins Spellman compared it with electricity. He said, “Enthusiasm is in the spiri­tual realm what electricity is in the field of the material.”

Genuine enthusiasm does electrify a personality with a high­ly persuasive, contagious emotional influence. Enveloping the entire being, this fire of the spirit lifts speakers from the ranks of the commonplace to heights of eloquence. “No man can rise to the heights of oratory unless his soul is on fire,” said Altgeld.

“The feet of the orator must walk in the’ sun and every fiber in his body must speak to the audience, not in rant, or quaver, but in the simple fervor of the patriot.”

Why did sparks of fire seem to come from Webster’s eyes when he spoke? Why could Wesley speak with such fervor at five o’clock in the morning? Or why did William Jennings Bryan willingly sleep for only three hours a night and speak twenty hours a day during his presidential campaigns? Enthusiasm for a cause is the answer. It is the same spirit that caused Mary Lyon to say, when she felt such a great need to make a college education available for women, ..”Sometimes its seems as if there was a fire shut up in my bones.” Why could she speak so eloquently and persuasively? Because she had enthusiasm for a purpose which she. considered to be as great as life itself.

What did you think? Future post will discuss the power of enthusiasm to fire up your speech.