Tag: public speaking

Eat, sleep, pray, and listen. This tip is probably the most obvious—but sometimes the most neglected—for speakers. You can have the best material and be well prepared, but if your body has not had adequate sleep, fluids, and nutrients, you’ll not be your best. Make it your standard practice to get at least seven hours of sleep before speaking at an important event (which includes, for you preachers, getting to bed early on Saturday nights in preparation for Sunday worship). Eat a nutritious breakfast. Drink plenty of fluids. These simple practices are essential to effective speaking. Two other practices seem self-evident, but even preachers often miss them: speakers need to make adequate time in their lives for prayer and reflection. In order to prepare and then deliver excellent messages, it is essential for a speaker to have time to think about and reflect upon the ideas that will go into a speech or sermon. And it is essential to spend time praying and inviting God to guide, lead, and speak to you. Reflection takes time, and the practice often gets crowded out of our busy lives. But taking the time to mull over points, to pray and meditate, and to study always results in deeper, more well-developed messages. Great material and thorough preparation are important, but if you neglect your own physical and spiritual well-being, you will fall short of your best as a speaker. Develop healthy habits to make sure you are nourished in every way, and your speaking will be more effective and satisfying. Read the other three posts in this series: How to Give an Effective Speech Effective Public Speaking Using 3 Main Points Effective Public Speaking Involves More Than Words Get more tips for effective public speaking in my new book, Speaking Well: Essential Skills for Speakers, Leaders, and Preachers.

When it comes to speaking well, eye contact is critical. I’ve known people, often authors, whose speeches had great content but their talks were horrible because they simply read their manuscript. You’ve likely heard someone quote, or misquote, psychologist Albert Mehrabian’s research that body language (posture, hands, and facial expressions) is responsible for 55 percent of the effectiveness of a speaker. Voice intonation was responsible for 38 percent of a speaker’s effectiveness, and the speaker’s words were responsible for only 7 percent of the speaker’s effectiveness. Mehrabian’s findings were a bit more nuanced than this. The subjects in his study were asked about their feelings in response to seeing and hearing someone speak. This is not exactly the same as how much information they retained or how close the presentation came to accomplishing its goal. Nevertheless, this research gives insight on how to engage an audience in a way that results in positive feelings toward the speaker and the presentation. Mehrabian’s work highlights what we know from our own daily interactions with other people: how we say something— our eyes, our facial expressions, our posture, our hands, and our tone of voice—plays a significantly greater role than our words do in how we will be heard and received by others, including our audiences or congregations. Get more tips for effective public speaking in my new book, Speaking Well: Essential Skills for Speakers, Leaders, and Preachers.

Speakers and preachers often denigrate the “three point” message. But there is a reason this idea took hold. Nearly everyone can remember three key points. This is particularly true if the points relate to each other, build upon one another, and are clearly connected. Ideally, a three-point message or speech provides a logical progression of ideas, something like, A + B = C. When a message has three distinct and only nominally related points, you should be able to answer this question: “If my hearers remember only one thing from this talk it should be . . .” Or, “What is the one thing I hope will change about people after they’ve heard my message?” Think of that one thing as something your audience will take with them when they leave your talk, the idea or conviction that will stick with them long after. Your sermon, message, or talk will be more compelling if you concentrate on the one thing (or at most the two or three things). Simple and straightforward is far more effective and memorable in public speech than complex and convoluted. Read or recall public speeches that were powerful and memorable, and you’ll notice that nearly all of them are centered on one distinct idea or one compact theme. “Less is more” when it comes to the points you are trying to make as a speaker. Your talks will be more effective and will have greater impact if you focus on one central idea and give your hearers a simple, straightforward takeaway. Get more tips for effective public speaking in my new book, Speaking Well: Essential Skills for Speakers, Leaders, and Preachers.

What’s the most important component to giving an effective speech? Asking the right questions. There are three very simple questions your talk, speech, or sermon should be built upon: why? who? and what? Why? When I’m asked to give a speech, talk, or sermon outside of my home church, I want to know, Why am I being asked to speak? Why me? Why are others being asked to listen to me? The underlying question is really about the purpose, aim, or mission of the talk. Who? Once you are clear about the mission or purpose, of both the group you are speaking to and the particular speech you are going to give, your next step is to know to whom you will be speaking. What will be on their hearts and minds as you speak to them? What might they need to hear from you? What? Finally, in light of the why and the who, I begin looking for the what. I begin asking, “What do I want my hearers to know? What do I want them to feel or experience? And what do I want them to do in response to this message?” As a speaker you should know why you are speaking, you should understand the people to whom you are speaking, and you should be clear about what you want those people to know, feel, and do as a response to your message. Get more tips for effective public speaking in my new book, Speaking Well: Essential Skills for Speakers, Leaders, and Preachers.