Would you like to learn speaking tips from hundreds of professional speakers? October is the month for the annual Professional Speaking Association ‘Inspire’ conference which aims to support professional speakers with their speaking and the business of speaking. I’m now a Fellow of the PSA and I’ve attended almost every year since I joined the association. I always come away with loads of new ideas; not only from the speakers on the main stage and in the breakout sessions, but also from the conversations during the breaks.
Here are a few of my takeaways (and some reminders of things I’m not doing consistently) from this year’s event, which include public speaking tips as well as tips for business in general:
Speaking
- Use humour: Best examples were veteran speaker and humourist, Tim Gard from the US, who had us all in stitches with his non-stop jokes and fun, crazy ‘Ex-stressories’ props, and motivational speaker Steven Robinson, known as the One Arm Pilot, whose humour was a little more subtle - evident when he displayed an image of his book ‘No Arm in Trying’ (it took some folk a few moments to get it!)
- Use storytelling: Right from the opening speaker, Susan Luke Evans a global speaker visiting from Toronto, it was evident that storytelling is one of the best ways to engage an audience. Rather than simply telling the facts of the story, share more sensory information that helps bring it to life for people. Be ‘in’ the story as you’re telling it and express any dialogue as if you are each specific character in the narrative.
- Use stage anchors: Shelle Rose Charvet, international expert in influence and persuasion, advocates the technique of anchoring past, present and future to different areas of the stage. I often talk about this in my masterclasses but it’s sometimes confusing for speakers as when you’re facing the audience the past is opposite to what feels natural. Shelle shared a great way to remember it “The past is right beside me; the future is left to come.”
- Use the word ‘you’: Terry Brock, international speaker and technology expert, demonstrated how important it is to use the word ‘you’ and use conversational questions to draw the audience into his talk such as “ How would you like to… ?” “What would it be like if you were able to… ?” “Wouldn’t it be great if you could… ?” which have a very different impact than a statement such as “I’m going to talk about…”
- Use interactive technology: Cathy O’Dowd, global adventurer and motivational speaker, used a voting app that showed the results in real time on the screen; this gave people the chance to be involved in her talk by voting on their phones at key moments and the results provided fascinating insights into the thoughts of the audience which were then incorporated into the talk.
Business
- Raise your profile by creating videos, podcasts and writing for industry magazines
- When uploading videos, include keywords in video titles so people can find them
- Use ‘Answer The Public’ or ‘Uber Suggest’ to identify the questions people are asking about your industry
- Interact and comment on LinkedIn posts and articles to raise your profile and demonstrate your expertise
- Consider including phone/email address in every section of your LinkedIn profile (be easy to find and easy to contact!)
- If you want to be paid to speak, speaker agent Maria Franzoni advises to:
1. Be relevant (current, on topic, in line with needs of the modern world)
2. Be memorable (different, dynamic, unique, make it a wow experience)
3. Be known (choose your niche, know which audience you serve, share great content on various platforms)
4. Make it easy (to book you, work with you and listen to you)
This is just a snapshot of the many tips and ideas that can be gained from attending a Professional Speaking Association conference. Some of the suggestions listed above I’m already doing, others I’m yet to implement. Which of them will you incorporate to improve your business or public speaking?
Mel Sherwood is a Presentation Skills and Personal Impact Speaker and Founder of The RED Effect™. She works with ambitious business leaders, teams and individuals who want to express themselves with confidence, credibility and charisma. An Australian based in Scotland, Mel is an award-winning speaker, author and coach and combines over 25 years’ experience in business with a background as an actor, presenter and singer.