give a speech on the stage

15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (And How to Create Your Own)

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Speech Writing

Powerful speech opening lines set the tone and mood of your speech. It’s what grips the audience to want to know more about the rest of your talk.

The first few seconds are critical. It’s when you have maximum attention of the audience. And you must capitalize on that!

Instead of starting off with something plain and obvious such as a ‘Thank you’ or ‘Good Morning’, there’s so much more you can do for a powerful speech opening (here’s a great article we wrote a while ago on how you should NOT start your speech ).

To help you with this, I’ve compiled some of my favourite openings from various speakers. These speakers have gone on to deliver TED talks , win international Toastmaster competitions or are just noteworthy people who have mastered the art of communication.

After each speaker’s opening line, I have added how you can include their style of opening into your own speech. Understanding how these great speakers do it will certainly give you an idea to create your own speech opening line which will grip the audience from the outset!

Alright! Let’s dive into the 15 powerful speech openings…

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1. Ric Elias

Opening: “Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.”

How to use the power of imagination to open your speech?

Putting your audience in a state of imagination can work extremely well to captivate them for the remainder of your talk.

It really helps to bring your audience in a certain mood that preps them for what’s about to come next. Speakers have used this with high effectiveness by transporting their audience into an imaginary land to help prove their point.

When Ric Elias opened his speech, the detail he used (3000 ft, sound of the engine going clack-clack-clack) made me feel that I too was in the plane. He was trying to make the audience experience what he was feeling – and, at least in my opinion, he did.

When using the imagination opening for speeches, the key is – detail. While we want the audience to wander into imagination, we want them to wander off to the image that we want to create for them. So, detail out your scenario if you’re going to use this technique.

Make your audience feel like they too are in the same circumstance as you were when you were in that particular situation.

2. Barack Obama

Opening: “You can’t say it, but you know it’s true.”

3. Seth MacFarlane

Opening: “There’s nowhere I would rather be on a day like this than around all this electoral equipment.” (It was raining)

How to use humour to open your speech?

When you use humour in a manner that suits your personality, it can set you up for a great speech. Why? Because getting a laugh in the first 30 seconds or so is a great way to quickly get the audience to like you.

And when they like you, they are much more likely to listen to and believe in your ideas.

Obama effortlessly uses his opening line to entice laughter among the audience. He brilliantly used the setting (the context of Trump becoming President) and said a line that completely matched his style of speaking.

Saying a joke without really saying a joke and getting people to laugh requires you to be completely comfortable in your own skin. And that’s not easy for many people (me being one of them).

If the joke doesn’t land as expected, it could lead to a rocky start.

Keep in mind the following when attempting to deliver a funny introduction:

• Know your audience: Make sure your audience gets the context of the joke (if it’s an inside joke among the members you’re speaking to, that’s even better!). You can read this article we wrote where we give you tips on how you can actually get to know your audience better to ensure maximum impact with your speech openings
• The joke should suit your natural personality. Don’t make it look forced or it won’t elicit the desired response
• Test the opening out on a few people who match your real audience. Analyze their response and tweak the joke accordingly if necessary
• Starting your speech with humour means your setting the tone of your speech. It would make sense to have a few more jokes sprinkled around the rest of the speech as well as the audience might be expecting the same from you

4. Mohammed Qahtani

Opening: Puts a cigarette on his lips, lights a lighter, stops just before lighting the cigarette. Looks at audience, “What?”

5. Darren Tay

Opening: Puts a white pair of briefs over his pants.

How to use props to begin your speech?

The reason props work so well in a talk is because in most cases the audience is not expecting anything more than just talking. So when a speaker pulls out an object that is unusual, everyone’s attention goes right to it.

It makes you wonder why that prop is being used in this particular speech.

The key word here is unusual . To grip the audience’s attention at the beginning of the speech, the prop being used should be something that the audience would never expect. Otherwise, it just becomes something that is common. And common = boring!

What Mohammed Qahtani and Darren Tay did superbly well in their talks was that they used props that nobody expected them to.

By pulling out a cigarette and lighter or a white pair of underwear, the audience can’t help but be gripped by what the speaker is about to do next. And that makes for a powerful speech opening.

6. Simon Sinek

Opening: “How do you explain when things don’t go as we assume? Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions?”

7. Julian Treasure

Opening: “The human voice. It’s the instrument we all play. It’s the most powerful sound in the world. Probably the only one that can start a war or say “I love you.” And yet many people have the experience that when they speak people don’t listen to them. Why is that? How can we speak powerfully to make change in the world?”

How to use questions to open a speech?

I use this method often. Starting off with a question is the simplest way to start your speech in a manner that immediately engages the audience.

But we should keep our questions compelling as opposed to something that is fairly obvious.

I’ve heard many speakers start their speeches with questions like “How many of us want to be successful?”

No one is going to say ‘no’ to that and frankly, I just feel silly raising my hand at such questions.

Simon Sinek and Jullian Treasure used questions in a manner that really made the audience think and make them curious to find out what the answer to that question is.

What Jullian Treasure did even better was the use of a few statements which built up to his question. This made the question even more compelling and set the theme for what the rest of his talk would be about.

So think of what question you can ask in your speech that will:

• Set the theme for the remainder of your speech
• Not be something that is fairly obvious
• Be compelling enough so that the audience will actually want to know what the answer to that question will be

8. Aaron Beverley

Opening: Long pause (after an absurdly long introduction of a 57-word speech title). “Be honest. You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

How to use silence for speech openings?

The reason this speech opening stands out is because of the fact that the title itself is 57 words long. The audience was already hilariously intrigued by what was going to come next.

But what’s so gripping here is the way Aaron holds the crowd’s suspense by…doing nothing. For about 10 to 12 seconds he did nothing but stand and look at the audience. Everyone quietened down. He then broke this silence by a humorous remark that brought the audience laughing down again.

When going on to open your speech, besides focusing on building a killer opening sentence, how about just being silent?

It’s important to keep in mind that the point of having a strong opening is so that the audience’s attention is all on you and are intrigued enough to want to listen to the rest of your speech.

Silence is a great way to do that. When you get on the stage, just pause for a few seconds (about 3 to 5 seconds) and just look at the crowd. Let the audience and yourself settle in to the fact that the spotlight is now on you.

I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something about starting the speech off with a pure pause that just makes the beginning so much more powerful. It adds credibility to you as a speaker as well, making you look more comfortable and confident on stage. 

If you want to know more about the power of pausing in public speaking , check out this post we wrote. It will give you a deeper insight into the importance of pausing and how you can harness it for your own speeches. You can also check out this video to know more about Pausing for Public Speaking:

9. Dan Pink

Opening: “I need to make a confession at the outset here. Little over 20 years ago, I did something that I regret. Something that I’m not particularly proud of. Something that in many ways I wish no one would ever know but that here I feel kind of obliged to reveal.”

10. Kelly McGonigal

Opening: “I have a confession to make. But first I want you to make a little confession to me.”

How to use a build-up to open your speech?

When there are so many amazing ways to start a speech and grip an audience from the outset, why would you ever choose to begin your speech with a ‘Good morning?’.

That’s what I love about build-ups. They set the mood for something awesome that’s about to come in that the audience will feel like they just have to know about.

Instead of starting a speech as it is, see if you can add some build-up to your beginning itself. For instance, in Kelly McGonigal’s speech, she could have started off with the question of stress itself (which she eventually moves on to in her speech). It’s not a bad way to start the speech.

But by adding the statement of “I have a confession to make” and then not revealing the confession for a little bit, the audience is gripped to know what she’s about to do next and find out what indeed is her confession.

11. Tim Urban

Opening: “So in college, I was a government major. Which means that I had to write a lot of papers. Now when a normal student writes a paper, they might spread the work out a little like this.”

12. Scott Dinsmore

Opening: “8 years ago, I got the worst career advice of my life.”

How to use storytelling as a speech opening?

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.” Steve Jobs

Storytelling is the foundation of good speeches. Starting your speech with a story is a great way to grip the audience’s attention. It makes them yearn to want to know how the rest of the story is going to pan out.

Tim Urban starts off his speech with a story dating back to his college days. His use of slides is masterful and something we all can learn from. But while his story sounds simple, it does the job of intriguing the audience to want to know more.

As soon as I heard the opening lines, I thought to myself “If normal students write their paper in a certain manner, how does Tim write his papers?”

Combine such a simple yet intriguing opening with comedic slides, and you’ve got yourself a pretty gripping speech.

Scott Dismore’s statement has a similar impact. However, just a side note, Scott Dismore actually started his speech with “Wow, what an honour.”

I would advise to not start your talk with something such as that. It’s way too common and does not do the job an opening must, which is to grip your audience and set the tone for what’s coming.

13. Larry Smith

Opening: “I want to discuss with you this afternoon why you’re going to fail to have a great career.”

14. Jane McGonigal

Opening: “You will live 7.5 minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk.”

How to use provocative statements to start your speech?

Making a provocative statement creates a keen desire among the audience to want to know more about what you have to say. It immediately brings everyone into attention.

Larry Smith did just that by making his opening statement surprising, lightly humorous, and above all – fearful. These elements lead to an opening statement which creates so much curiosity among the audience that they need to know how your speech pans out.

This one time, I remember seeing a speaker start a speech with, “Last week, my best friend committed suicide.” The entire crowd was gripped. Everyone could feel the tension in the room.

They were just waiting for the speaker to continue to know where this speech will go.

That’s what a hard-hitting statement does, it intrigues your audience so much that they can’t wait to hear more! Just a tip, if you do start off with a provocative, hard-hitting statement, make sure you pause for a moment after saying it.

Silence after an impactful statement will allow your message to really sink in with the audience.

Related article: 5 Ways to Grab Your Audience’s Attention When You’re Losing it!

15. Ramona J Smith

Opening: In a boxing stance, “Life would sometimes feel like a fight. The punches, jabs and hooks will come in the form of challenges, obstacles and failures. Yet if you stay in the ring and learn from those past fights, at the end of each round, you’ll be still standing.”

How to use your full body to grip the audience at the beginning of your speech?

In a talk, the audience is expecting you to do just that – talk. But when you enter the stage and start putting your full body into use in a way that the audience does not expect, it grabs their attention.

Body language is critical when it comes to public speaking. Hand gestures, stage movement, facial expressions are all things that need to be paid attention to while you’re speaking on stage. But that’s not I’m talking about here.

Here, I’m referring to a unique use of the body that grips the audience, like how Ramona did. By using her body to get into a boxing stance, imitating punches, jabs and hooks with her arms while talking – that’s what got the audience’s attention.

The reason I say this is so powerful is because if you take Ramona’s speech and remove the body usage from her opening, the entire magic of the opening falls flat.

While the content is definitely strong, without those movements, she would not have captured the audience’s attention as beautifully as she did with the use of her body.

So if you have a speech opening that seems slightly dull, see if you can add some body movement to it.

If your speech starts with a story of someone running, actually act out the running. If your speech starts with a story of someone reading, actually act out the reading.

It will make your speech opening that much more impactful.

Related article: 5 Body Language Tips to Command the Stage

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Final Words

So there it is! 15 speech openings from some of my favourite speeches. Hopefully, these will act as a guide for you to create your own opening which is super impactful and sets you off on the path to becoming a powerful public speaker!

But remember, while a speech opening is super important, it’s just part of an overall structure.

If you’re serious about not just creating a great speech opening but to improve your public speaking at an overall level, I would highly recommend you to check out this course: Acumen Presents: Chris Anderson on Public Speaking on Udemy. Not only does it have specific lectures on starting and ending a speech, but it also offers an in-depth guide into all the nuances of public speaking. 

Being the founder of TED Talks, Chris Anderson provides numerous examples of the best TED speakers to give us a very practical way of overcoming stage fear and delivering a speech that people will remember. His course has helped me personally and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to learn public speaking. 

No one is ever “done” learning public speaking. It’s a continuous process and you can always get better. Keep learning, keep conquering and keep being awesome!

Lastly, if you want to know how you should NOT open your speech, we’ve got a video for you:

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• Delivery Techniques →

How to Give a Speech: 10 Tips for Powerful Public Speaking

When we start preparing to give a speech, it can be a nerve-wracking experience. It’s completely normal—most of us feel a combination of excitement and nerves when we’re about to take the stage.

However, with some strategic planning and practical advice, you can make sure your speech is powerful and effective. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to give a speech that will leave your audience engaged and inspired.

We’ll examine 10 tips to help you build a powerful speech, from outlining your points methodically to crafting captivating introductions . Whether you’re a beginner or experienced public speaker, these nuggets of wisdom will help you take your next speech to the next level. Let’s get started!

Quick Review of Key Points

Preparing ahead of time is the key to giving an effective speech. Make sure to structure your speaking points, rehearse your delivery, and be aware of the needs of your audience for maximum impact.

How to Prepare for a Speech

Preparing for a speech is an essential step to public speaking success. It can help to build your confidence, create content that reaches the audience, and reduce performance anxiety.

Although it can be time-consuming in the beginning, preparation will ensure less stress and more comfort during delivery. Here are some tips to consider when preparing for a speech:

Practice : Before delivering a speech, practice it out loud several times. This will allow you to gain experience in speaking without an audience and increase your confidence when you do have one.

Practicing also helps to identify awkward moments in the speech or any difficult phrases which then can be changed or removed altogether. Additionally, it helps you determine where to pause for effect. Research : Depending on the topic of the speech , research should be done beforehand to gather information that is relevant and interesting for the audience. It is important to get acquainted with the language typically used by audiences to ensure a clear understanding of what is being said.

Additionally, relevant statistics and stories concerning the topic are a great way to draw in listeners and make the presentation more engaging .

Know Your Audience : When preparing your speech, be sure to consider who will be listening. For instance, if giving a presentation at work, include industry jargon that members would understand and include relevant topics from publications that might be familiar to the employees.

On the other hand, if consulting business professionals in their field then technical language may be easier for them to comprehend than laypeople or students.

By gathering valuable information about the topic and getting comfortable with a speech’s content and delivery through practice, speakers will gain more assurance during their talk as well as respect from their audience.

Preparing beforehand not only gives insight into how to engage listeners but also encourages more meaningful conversations after the event. Now that we have discussed how to prepare for a speech let us move on to creating an outline which will provide structure during delivery.

Create an Outline

After determining the audience and purpose of your speech, the next step to effective public speaking is to create an outline .

An outline serves as a roadmap to ensure that your speech has a logical flow and contains all important points. It also can help keep you on track during the speech itself, allowing you to stay focused and organized.

When constructing an outline, consider drawing up both a main point and sub-points for each portion of the speech. Both should be relevant to the goal of the presentation and backed up by facts and research.

Brainstorming can help in this process; try grouping your ideas together in clusters to make sure you cover all possible angles.

Furthermore, writing out exact quotations or figures can prove beneficial in forming a cohesive argument. At this stage, it is also wise to decide where transitions, humor, stories, or other engaging techniques will be included.

While there are differing opinions as to whether outlines should be memorized or simply used as a reference while speaking, many agree that they should serve their purpose – not only articulate the main thoughts of the speech but also assist the speaker with maintaining focus and preventing distractions.

The debate between those who advocate for memorization versus casual consulting touches upon issues such as rehearsal time, risk of errors in delivery, ease of practice versus actual performance and more.

Each side has valid arguments that should be weighed prior to deciding what type of approach best suits your needs.

Having a firmly constructed outline acts as a valuable tool when it comes time to deliver a powerful public speech. By actively utilizing this tactic, speakers may not only enhance their clarity and coherence, but also add structure and vibrance to their presentations.

Now that we have explored what goes into crafting an effective outline, let’s dive deeper into how we can best collect resources and research our topics for maximum impact.

Collect Sources and Research

Collecting sources and research is a crucial step for any public speaking engagement. It ensures that you have the necessary information to make strong points and back up your statements.

Before writing your speech, take time to research your topic to gain familiarity with different perspectives, facts, and counterpoints. This will help you to craft an argument that can stand up to scrutiny while also adding a breadth of knowledge to your speech.

Interviews can be a powerful source of evidence and anecdotes, so try to include one or two relevant interviews in your research process. Relying solely on secondary sources such as books and articles can lead to a narrow scope of understanding.

Interviews provide an opportunity to hear directly from an expert and create an interesting dynamic in your speech by adding personal experiences as well as commentary from a professional.

In research it is important to stay objective. Gather a variety of perspectives and be open-minded about their merits. Don’t forget to consider both sides of the argument when researching for your speech.

Doing this allows you to understand the opposing perspective and enables you to anticipate potential counter arguments from your audience.

By acknowledging them beforehand, you may increase the persuasive power of your speech by showing confidence in the points you make.

Once you have collected all sources, review them carefully and separate the most pertinent information from the less useful material.

Synthesising this information into concise yet impactful points is a critical part in delivering powerful talks without overloading your audience with too much data or going off track during your speech delivery.

Organizing Your Speech

Before you start putting your words together, it’s important to consider how the different parts of a speech fit together. By taking the time to organize the ideas in your speech , you’ll be able to deliver a presentation that is well-constructed and easy to understand.

One way to help with organizing your speech is to write an outline . An outline is like a map or plan that will provide you with a framework for each section of your speech.

Start by writing out your main points and then include additional details underneath each one. This will help keep your speech focused and provide direction for where you are going next.

Another approach for organizing your speech is known as the “inverted pyramid” method. This structure starts with your conclusion at the beginning of the speech, and then works backward by providing more explanation and detail as it moves toward the introduction.

This method can be helpful when speaking about topics that are unfamiliar to the audience since it doesn’t require them to wait until near the end of the presentation to learn what you’ve been talking about.

No matter which organization approach you choose, make sure to practice it before giving your speech so that you are comfortable with its flow. Lastly, remember that it’s ok to adjust things while you speak if they don’t seem or feel quite right.

Now let’s take a look at how we can use these organizing techniques to actually put our speeches together – starting with structuring our speech.

Structure Your Speech

Creating a strong structure for your speech will ensure that the audience stays engaged and understands your main points. As you are developing an outline, map out how you want to begin and end your speech.

Break up the information into smaller sections with either verbal or visual cues so that your audience can clearly see how you are transitioning between topics . Consider adding humor judiciously throughout your presentation as this could help engage the audience and lighten any tension.

The length of your presentation is also important. You will want to make sure that you include all of the necessary information without going over time.

Oftentimes less is more; if you can say it in five minutes why use ten? Make sure that you practice timed rehearsals so that you can gauge how long you’re actually speaking.

In contrast, avoid trying to pack too much content into one presentation as this could overwhelm both you and the audience. If needed, offer supplemental reading materials for those who may be interested in delving further into the subject matter.

Paragraphs can also be helpful when organizing large amounts of content within the body of your presentation. Utilizing paragraph breaks gives your audience a break and helps to highlight key ideas or summaries before moving onto a new topic area.

Finally, it is crucial to remember what your desired outcome is from the presentation; plan accordingly by ensuring that the beginning, middle, and end serve their respective purposes and adhere to that goal.

With careful deliberations, structuring a successful presentation can be achieved with relative ease.

Having established a solid structure for your speech, it’s important to focus on another key element: rehearsal. The next section will discuss the benefits of practicing before delivering a powerful public speaking performance.

Rehearse Your Speech

Rehearsing is integral to giving a successful speech. When you rehearse your presentation, you give your mind an opportunity to become familiar with the notes and concepts that you are presenting. It also increases your confidence and reduces anxiety or self-doubt.

In fact, studies have found that those who rehearsed their presentation had higher scores in public speaking performance and language proficiency evaluations.

When it comes to how much rehearsal is enough, opinions are divided. Some people believe that over-rehearsing can lead to a more robotic speech with less natural emotion and connection with the audience .

On the other hand, others argue that no matter how well-versed someone is on the topic, additional rehearsal time improves both the delivery of the speech and memorization of key points and facts.

Ultimately, it’s important to practice until you personally find the most comfortable level for yourself, as this will ultimately result in a more engaging delivery.

Finally, if at all possible, try to practice in front of a friend or colleague for honest feedback on any elements that need improvement before the big day. Rehearsal dedication may be tedious, but it results in big rewards on stage–enabling you to deliver your content with clarity, confidence, and poise.

With thoughtful preparation complete, it’s now time to step into the spotlight and give your speech!

Giving Your Speech

The key to success when giving a speech is to be well prepared and confident. Every individual’s preparation process will vary, but the basics should stay the same.

Start by studying your content, understanding the material and being able to repeat it in your own words. Clarify any potentially difficult points. Create visual aids like PowerPoint slides or handouts that supplement the key ideas in your speech.

Practice your public speaking skills with informal conversations with friends and family or rehearse it alone in front of a mirror. Use visualization; imagine yourself confidently delivering your speech. Consider addressing a practice audience if possible to become more accustomed to a live size group.

On the day of the event, arrive early and plan for any potential obstacles: What if my computer doesn’t work? What if I forget something? Allow sufficient time for setup and check-in.

When you are ready to give your speech, take some deep breaths, focus on the positives, and distract yourself from any anxious thoughts with positive affirmations. Remember you have prepared diligently for this moment, you are well prepared and you will succeed!

Start strong by engaging the audience immediately with an attention grabbing opening statement. Speak clearly and make sure that everyone can hear and understand your message.

Slow down and emphasize points as needed throughout your presentation. Be aware of pace, volume, and tone of voice: too fast/monotone can confuse/bore listeners while pauses add a dramatic effect that keeps their interest piqued.

Ultimately, giving a successful speech will depend on knowing your material well enough to speak confidently in front of your audience without hesitation or missteps.

When you do make a mistake (and they happen!) don’t panic – know that mistakes are inevitable but don’t be discouraged; get back on track as soon as possible and continue at the same energy level you had before the mistake occurred.

Having successfully given your speech, take a moment to reflect on what went well and what could be improved upon for next time before transitioning into the next step: mastering delivery.

Master Your Delivery

Mastering your delivery is the key to an effective speech. Without purposeful body language and careful emphasis on certain words , your speech may lack wow-factor and prevent listeners from tuning in. Following these simple tips can help you get started with delivering an engaging and memorable speech:

The most important part of delivery is practice. Rehearse and perfect your speech ahead of time – this allows for more natural flow and confidence during your presentation. It also helps to create pauses between sentences for clarity, emphasize key points, and not be too casual or stiff.

Practicing inflections and varying tones adds interest to your speech by keeping listeners’ attention.

Additionally, it’s important to project your voic e so everyone in the room can hear you; make sure you’re speaking loud enough but don’t feel pressure to shout or yell at any point unless that’s part of the atmosphere of the event.

It’s also crucial to maintain good posture while speaking – stand tall with both feet on the ground, keep your back straight, hold yourself up without gesturing too much or leaning against a podium if applicable.

To further engage listeners, use purposeful hand gestures as they help emphasize certain points and add visual interest – however, avoid overusing them as it can hinders communication.

Make meaningful eye contact with audience members throughout the presentation – otherwise you might come across as unenthusiastic or bored with what you’re saying which deters attention away from the content itself.

By mastering your delivery, you can boost the impact of your presentation considerably – providing a memorable experience for your audience that stands out from others’. As such, it’s worth investing time into practicing ahead of time until delivery feels comfortable and second nature.

Having said this, making use of visual aids such as PowerPoint slides can greatly improve the impact of a speech once delivery has been mastered – let’s look into that next.

Use Visual Aids

Using visual aids can help presenters express concepts more clearly and engage the audience.

Visuals are particularly useful when conveying complex information, such as data, trends, or statistics — they impart meaning at a glance. But some public speakers may wonder if visual aids can be distracting or unnecessary.

Even though visuals can attract attention away from a presenter’s verbal delivery, carefully designed visuals can actually support the speech and help provide clarity. If done well, visuals are effective for capturing an audience’s interest and helping them to better understand the content being presented.

For example, a graph or chart should relate to the points made in the speech and should be discussed in more detail during its appearance onscreen. The presentation can also include larger images that effectively reinforce the ideas conveyed in the speech.

Videos and sound clips are other powerful forms of multimedia that could be employed to make the speech more meaningful.

To ensure that visuals enhance the message of the presentation, key factors to consider include relevancy to topic, good graphic design or aesthetics, accurate size to prevent distortion or blurriness, and seamless integration into the keynote slides or printed handouts .

In this way, visuals offer an opportunity for presenters to demonstrate their creativity and keep their audiences interested in what is being said. Thus, used wisely and aptly, visuals can add tremendous value to speeches by presenting arguments more efficiently and driving home important points. Now let’s explore effective techniques for speech giving that will allow you to craft and deliver your speeches with confidence.

Effective Techniques for Speech Giving

There are a number of effective techniques for giving a speech that will help you deliver it with confidence and poise.

First, practice your delivery in advance. You should practice both in front of a mirror or recording device to check for any distracting habits such as talking too quickly or mispronouncing words.

Second, use simple, clear language and short, concise sentences. Avoid overly technical terms and jargon that may leave your audience confused.

Third, work to establish a connection with your audience by using appropriate facial expressions and hand gestures while speaking.

Fourth, utilize effective persuasive techniques such as presenting evidence, strong arguments supported by facts, personal anecdotes and vivid metaphors.

Finally, articulate an organized structure for your speech. Your speech should have an introduction, body and conclusion to clearly communicate the main point and provide the audience with the necessary context to understand it better.

While these techniques may sound intimidating at first, they can be learned over time with practice and will make all the difference in how successful your speech delivery is received by your audience.

To build on these skills further , the next section will provide tips on how to build confidence when giving a speech.

Building Confidence

Building confidence is key when giving a powerful speech, as it will enable you to deliver the speech in a more poised and credible manner.

To create this confidence , start by understanding that any hesitation or butterflies prior to your speech are completely normal and should not be feared. Instead, view them as natural states of anticipation for something exciting, knowing that you are about to give an amazing speech.

Next, understanding who your audience is and tailoring your speech to meet their expectations will help build your confidence.

Familiarizing yourself with their interests and knowledge on the subject matter ahead of time can equip you with the understanding needed to respond appropriately if questions arise or objections surface during the speech.

Further, practice is key when building confidence for a public speaking engagement . Rehearsing with friends or colleagues before hand will give you an opportunity to learn where problem areas are within the content of your speech, as well as help solidify your delivery by becoming more comfortable with each step.

Checking sound levels in the room you’re presenting in coupled with learning where exits/emergency locations are located within that space can also help alleviate stress levels and boost self-assurance while delivering the speech.

Finally, wearing comfortable clothing and dressing professionally adds an extra layer of confidence when speaking in public.

If possible, bring an additional outfit on hand during the presentation in case of spills or accidents that would require a quick change between sections of the talk. Having this back-up plan in place can aid in keeping peace of mind at ease throughout the speech.

In conclusion, building confidence prior to a public speaking event can mean the difference between a good and great delivery of your message.

By taking into account each of these tips you can ensure that this part of your preparation runs smoothly and sets you up for success when delivering powerful speeches.

With a well-crafted note card of talking points and strong sense of self-assurance, it’s time to start speaking with passion!

Speaking with Passion

As a public speaker, your audience expects you to engage not only with your words but also with your emotions. To share the most impactful message, it is important to speak passionately about your subject.

Doing so will make your speech more memorable and thereby more effective in convincing your audience of its legitimacy.

The power of speaking authentically with emotion lies in its relatability and connection. Showing feelings allows people to connect with you as a person rather than just a speaker. It opens the door to understanding through empathy and active listening .

Examples might include adding personal stories , telling jokes, or displaying your feelings openly during the delivery of your message.

However, not all topics lend themselves easily to expressing emotion. If the subject matter is overly complex or technical there may be less opportunity for emotional expression—but this doesn’t mean those conversations can’t incorporate emotion.

Even if faced with a difficult situation such as death or financial turmoil, emotions can still be conveyed in a respectful way that keeps audiences engaged.

Remember that how much emotion you show depends on the type of audience you’re sharing it with—using sensitivity when delivering passionate speeches helps avoid awkwardness or embarrassment for any attendees who may find opinionated language uncomfortable for whatever reason.

Striking the right balance between being straightforward and showing compassion takes practice, so take the time to develop a style that works best for you and improves upon each performance.

Finally, incorporating passion into a speech gives it life and makes it relatable and engaging—which are essential elements to speaking effectively.

Having passion means giving ourselves permission to take ownership over our stories, making them deeply personal in order to reach our goals and touch people’s hearts in meaningful ways. With that said, let’s move on to discussing how we should tackle dealing with challenges while giving a speech.

Dealing with Challenges

The process of delivering a speech can be challenging, but it is also rewarding. Difficulties can arise during the process that may threaten to derail your success. To ensure you are adequately prepared for these possible pitfalls it is important to consider strategies for proactively mitigating the risk of encountering these challenges. 1. Public Speaking Anxiety: Many people experience some form of anxiety when asked to speak in public. There are a number of techniques available to combat this fear and increase confidence, such as deep breathing exercises, mental rehearsal, positive self-talk and visualization of success.

Learning about the audience, creating an engaging presentation and using props or visual aids can also help reduce anxiety levels and create a better overall experience for both the speaker and the audience. 2. Unfamiliar Topics or Audiences: When presenting on unfamiliar topics or to an unknown audience it can be difficult to prepare effectively.

In this situation it is important to conduct research on the topic and familiarize yourself with the needs of your audience so that the content is tailored accordingly. It is also helpful to use humor or stories related to the topic in order to engage your audience and make them more receptive to your message. 3. Lack of Support: If you lack support from family, friends, colleagues or mentors, it can be difficult to push through difficult conversations or speeches without any additional motivation.

To overcome this challenge, seek out peer mentorship opportunities or find compatible online communities where people discuss similar topics or objectives. Here you can share ideas, provide feedback and learn from others who have experienced similar issues. 4. Time Constraints: One of the biggest challenges when giving a speech is managing your time effectively in order to deliver an effective message without going over allotted timeslots and boring your audience .

To successfully address this challenge try setting manageable goals for each section of your speech and practice regularly. Replicating real-time conditions as closely as possible will help you stay within time constraints when delivering your speech on the day itself. In conclusion, there are many potential challenges you may face when giving a speech or taking part in a public speaking event – but with proper preparation and practice they are easily managed if approached correctly.

With knowledge of techniques for dealing with such scenarios comes increased confidence when stepping up to the podium – further improving your chances of delivering an effective speech that resonates with your audience members.

Responses to Frequently Asked Questions

How should i end my speech to leave a lasting impression.

The best way to end your speech is by reinforcing your main point and summarizing the key takeaways. You should also encourage the audience to take action, whether it be to sign up for a newsletter, make a donation, or visit your website for more information. This final call to action will not only leave a lasting impression on the audience but will also help you achieve any goals you might have had when making your speech in the first place.

What techniques can I use to keep my audience engaged during my speech?

One of the best techniques for keeping an audience engaged during a speech is to keep it interactive . Ask questions throughout the presentation, as well as allowing for audience input and discussion. This can help to keep people’s attention and create a more engaging experience.

Another great tip is to use humor. Even if you don’t consider yourself a natural comedian, sprinkling in a few jokes here and there can break up the monotony of long speeches and keep people interested. Humor can also help to make points stick in people’s minds, making them easier to remember.

Finally, try to be enthusiastic about the content of your speech. If you show too much indifference or lethargic behavior, it will discourage your audience from paying attention and taking your message seriously.

Instead, be passionate about what you are saying so that the energy of your words carries into the room and engages your audience with excitement.

How can I use storytelling to make my speech more interesting?

Storytelling is a powerful tool that can be used to make any speech more interesting. Telling stories in your speech will help engage the audience and make your message stick. Here are some tips for using storytelling in your speech:

1. Choose stories that are relevant to your message and audience. Think about stories that will best illustrate the point you are trying to convey, or evoke emotions in your listeners. 2. Use vivid descriptions and visuals when telling your story. Be sure to include details such as setting, character descriptions, dialogue and plot points. This will help to bring the story to life for your audience. 3. Make sure the story you are telling has a strong conclusion or moral at the end. This will help add emphasis to your message and make it memorable. 4. Practice telling stories out loud before delivering a speech with them. Rehearsing will help you deliver your story more effectively and with more confidence in front of an audience. By using these tips, storytelling can be an effective tool to make any speech more interesting, engaging, and persuasive!

How can I prepare for my speech effectively?

Preparing for a speech effectively is essential to delivering an impactful and memorable presentation. Here are some tips: 1. Have a clear goal in mind. Before starting to prepare, ask yourself what the purpose of giving the speech is: what message do you want to convey? Defining this will help to structure your content and focus your research. 2. Research thoroughly. Make sure you understand the subject matter well, so that your delivery sounds confident and inspiring. Using facts and data will strengthen your arguments and make your talk more convincing. 3. Outline your speech. Make a rough outline of how you want it to go – from beginning to end – well in advance of the actual presentation. This will give you a strong foundation upon which you can craft an engaging talk with an effective narrative arc that keeps audiences interested and engaged. 4. Practice regularly. Rehearsing your speech out loud several times is key to ensuring that you know it well enough to feel comfortable when delivering it live in front of an audience.

5. Time yourself. Record how long it takes for you to go through your entire speech, so that you can adjust the length as needed before delivering it live – remember that most speeches should last no more than 10-15 minutes. 6. Identify potential questions from the audience and prepare answers before hand. Knowing ahead of time what kind of questions people may ask can help reduce the anxiety of not knowing what comes next, enabling you to stay confident when speaking in public. 7. Work on building up confidence levels before delivering a speech. Visualize yourself succeeding in delivering a great presentation; practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or positive self-talk; or use props during practice sessions such as water bottles or stress balls if needed to remain calm during the real thing!

What strategies can I use to reduce my anxiety when giving a speech?

1. Plan Ahead: Create an outline of your speech beforehand and practice it multiple times to become familiar with the content. Doing a trial run with the audience can also help you get used to speaking in front of people.

2. Visualize Success: Positive visualization is a great way to reduce anxiety before giving a speech. Imagine yourself confidently delivering the speech while feeling relaxed and composed.

3. Get Organized: Make sure you have all the materials necessary for your presentation, including notes, slides, etc., to reduce any additional stress that may come from not having what you need when you speak.

4. Take Deep Breaths: Before and during the speech, take a few deep breaths as this will help calm nerves and make sure your breathing is regulated throughout the duration of your presentation.

5. Speak Slowly: It is common to feel anxious while giving a speech and try to rush through it too quickly. Speaking slowly helps maintain composure while delivering your message effectively and clearly.

6. Pay Attention to Your Body: Your posture, stance, movements , facial expressions can all influence how confident you appear to your audience and how nervous you may be feeling inside. Check in with yourself frequently throughout the presentation and correct any tense body language or physical actions if needed.

7. Focus on the Audience: If you notice that your anxiety levels are growing as you present, shift your focus onto the audience instead of yourself as this will help refocus your attention away from negative thoughts that may arise from fear or insecurity.

8. Make Eye Contact: Establishing eye contact with your audience is a key confidence-builder for public speakers—it shows that you’re strong, engaged with them, and receptive to feedback or questions they might have regarding your speech topic .

9. Practice Positive Affirmations: Positive thoughts will boost your self-confidence as well as your mood which can help increase performance quality significantly during speeches or presentations in general—so don’t forget to tell yourself “you can do it!” several times throughout the day leading up to the event!

10. Seek Support of Friends & Family: Many experienced public speakers suggest seeking support of close friends & family members prior and during their speeches—not only does it allow helpful critique regarding content but it also creates a more comfortable atmosphere while speaking which can reduce pre-speech jitters drastically.

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10 Tips to Try Now to Master Stage Presence

Having a good stage presence is the key to any great performance. From live music to keynote speeches, the most memorable performers command the stage with charisma, energy, and confidence. As someone who has been giving speeches and presentations for multiple decades, I have learned a thing or two about having a good stage presence in my journey.

Your success as a presenter relies on your ability to capture and command the attention of your audience. You need to be able to direct and control that attention through your words, confidence, appearance, body language, eye contact, visual cues, and general mannerisms.

Depending on who you are and what your message is, your stage presence can be achieved in several ways. A politician must be eloquent, a comedian must be humorous, and a public speaker must be authentic. It’s important to understand where you stand and the best stage presence to have to get the most effective outcomes.

Whether it’s good or bad, everyone has a stage presence. You may be serious and articulate, hoping to convey impactful messages when on stage. Or, you may be curious and excitable, hoping to energize your audience when you get on stage. Either way, here on my tips on how to enhance your current stage presence in order to capture and engage your audience.

What is Stage Presence?

Stage presence cannot be defined by one word. Stage presence is a combination of things – your charisma, appeal, confidence, and energy when performing on stage. This also includes your level of comfort on stage, your ability to connect with your audience and hold their attention, and how memorable the experience was once it’s over. Your stage presence is the biggest variable that determines whether your audience will be spreading the word about your presentation after it’s over.

Having a good stage presence is very important when delivering a speech or presentation. The best speakers have a very captivating stage presence – they are able to capture the audience’s full attention and keep them interested throughout the entirety of their speech.   Improving your public speaking skills allows you to build confidence and develop a strong stage presence anytime you give a speech; from a presentation to your team at work, all the way to a company-wide keynote.  

How to Tell if You Have Good Stage Presence

Stage presence can be gauged by a few metrics. If you’re wondering how well you perform on stage, here are a few ways to figure it out.

• Your audience’s reaction. Does your audience appear interested and engaged throughout your presentation? Are they laughing or reacting at all the right parts? Is their full attention on you? Did they give you positive feedback once your speech was over?
• Your audience’s remembrance of your presentation. Was your audience talking about your presentation after it was over? Will they tell their friends, family, colleagues about what you presented? Were there memorable quotes or anecdotes in your speech that your audience can recall later on? Is your presentation being referenced long after you gave it?
• Your own confidence in your presentation. How well do you think you performed? Did you feel like you executed the speech just as you hoped? Did you feel comfortable and confident throughout the presentation? Is there anything you could have improved?

These are all very important questions to ask yourself when determining your stage presence. The answers to these questions will help you understand what’s working, what can be improved, and what could be gotten rid of.

If some of the answers weren’t as great as you hoped they would be, I’ve included some of my best tips below to help boost your confidence, engage with your audience, and improve your overall stage presence .  

10 Tips to Improve Stage Presence

Everything from communicating with colleagues to presenting your big ideas to the company, having a good stage presence is an important factor in getting your message across. Being under a spotlight of any kind gives you command of the room – after that, you decide how you want the rest to go.

Throughout my 40-year career as a public speaker, I’ve learned and incorporated many best public speaking practices in my speeches. Here are a few that I believe are the most important in developing your unique stage presence and your own style of presenting.

1. Practice, practice, practice

Here’s a cliché we have all heard at least a dozen times: practice makes perfect.

Why is it a cliché, you ask? Because it’s been proven time and time again. If you, like 40% of Americans, have a fear of public speaking , practicing allows you to minimize the panic and mitigate stress during your presentation.

Whenever you are preparing to give a big presentation, nothing can take the place of practice. Practicing allows you to really nail down your main points, prepare for any situation that may arise during your speech, and help you gain confidence in your speaking skills.

If you’re newer to the world of public speaking, practicing will be incredibly helpful in overcoming your fears and developing a great stage presence.

2. Use Engaging Visuals

Enhancing stage presence can be done in many ways. A great tool I’ve utilized in many of my presentations is using engaging visuals. Though you should be the main focus of your presentation, visual aids can act as a useful addition to enhance your performance.

Using engaging visuals can help you tell your story and deliver meaningful points. Considering that over 65% of the population are visual learners, visual content also helps reinforce your message. Through the use of charts, infographics, images, videos, and even the occasional meme, visual aids can evoke emotion in your audience and strengthen your key points.

3. Bring your audience into the presentation

Whether it’s an anecdote, a question, a joke, or asking for a volunteer, bringing your audience into your performance is one of the best ways to make them feel valued and stay engaged.

People love to make their voices heard and feel like they are contributing to the conversation. You will notice how their body language changes when they feel like they have the opportunity to shine.

Engaging with your audience will allow you to establish and deeper connection with them and be seen as relatable.

You can create comradery and rapport to further capture your audience’s attention by bringing them into your presentation when appropriate. Developing a stage persona that feels relatable and accepting will make for a memorable performance.

4. Always seek to improve every performance

As a speaker that has been in this industry for a long time, I know that there is always room for improvement. Seeking opportunities for improvement will always keep you hungry to become the best performer you can be.

Reference past performances and look at areas you could have done better in. Record your speeches and take notes on them after the fact. Watch yourself and track how the audience reacts throughout your speech.

What did they like or dislike? When did they start losing interest? Was everyone fully engaged or were they talking amongst themselves?

The answers to these questions can help you pinpoint what works best for you during your performances.

Track your characteristics and patterns and think of ways to enhance the good ones and remove the bad ones. Maybe after rewatching your speech, you realize you have a different anecdote that you think could elevate your presentation the next time. Notes like this will help you continuously improve and enhance your public speaking skills and stage presence.

5. Use the entire stage

Whether in person or on zoom, utilize all the room you have – work the whole stage. Especially if you’re presenting to a large audience – make an effort to walk around the stage so you can engage with each portion of the audience. You will get a better view of your audience members, and they will see more of you. Hold meaningful eye contact with your audience members in order to build connections. Use your body language to convey openness and confidence.  

Staying in one place and reading from a prompter while presenting may feel dull and unenthusiastic. You want each audience member to follow your movements and stay engaged in your performance.

Plus, moving around and taking up space on the stage can help elevate your energy level and alleviate any tense nerves you may have, and make you look more confident whilst presenting. You will notice what kind of movements and body language your audience responds the most to. This is your opportunity to try new things and add them to the repertoire if they work well.  

6. Embrace the power of pause

One of the most important skills you can have as a speaker is listening. Being an active listener allows you to absorb new information and make people feel heard and understood. Rather than jumping to respond right after finishes speaking, a great listener always pauses . This pause allows you to gather your thoughts and respond with consideration to the message the person has spoken to you.

All great listeners are masters of the pause . They are comfortable with silence and can even use it to build momentum and anticipation for what they have to say next. They appear more confident and self-assured when they have the patience to pause. This skill is especially important when building your stage presence, as it will help you keep your audience at the edge of their seats.  

7. Dress to Impress

Though your audience will surely be attending your presentation to hear what you have to say, it’s very important to dress the part. Make sure you are wearing something that you feel comfortable and yourself in, but that also aligns with the meaning of your presentation.

For example, if your presentation is about how to find balance in life, wearing a full-pressed suit may not be the best choice. Why do you ask? Because the topic of the conversation is more casual and inclusive. You want to look and sound like you have found balance in your own life. A better outfit option for that speech could be a nice pair of slacks and a button-down.

If you are presenting something more formal and the event is corporate, a suit may be the way to go. Feeling good in the way you look while performing will help you speak with confidence and boost your stage presence.  

8. Stay Confident in Yourself, Even When Slipups Happen

You will always hear me say how important it is to be confident when performing. Your confidence, energy, and comfortability on stage allow your audience to focus on the message you are delivering, rather than how nervous you may be.

It is, however, not always as simple as that. You may miss a key point during your presentation or stumble on a few words. The microphone may stop working halfway through or the lights may suddenly go out. Your first instinct may be to panic that your presentation is ruined. But alas, it is not. Take a breath and pause if needed.

Having a good stage presence means you know how to handle bad situations. This means practicing how to deal with these kinds of situations before they occur. When you know what your next steps will be in case anything goes wrong, you won’t be nervous about anything to come. You’ll remain cool, calm, and collected through anything.

One of my favorite quotes is a Hasidic Proverb and it goes like this, “The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others.”

If you remain confident in yourself, you will deliver an incredible presentation and leave your audience with some great leadership quotes of your own .  

9. Ensure All Equipment is Working

Though it’s important to stay confident if a bad situation arises during your presentation, it’s equally as important to mitigate risk wherever possible. Whether you’re presenting on a physical stage or virtually, make sure everything you need is working properly beforehand, like microphones, screens, cameras, and prompters.

Your stage presence can still be felt virtually. That’s why it’s so important to get familiar with and understand the technology you are using. You don’t want to distract from your presentation with silly errors, like not knowing how to un-mute yourself. Becoming familiar with the features you will need to use during your presentation will create an efficient and problem-free presentation. Learn how to share your screen, read audience members’ comments, break participants into discussion groups, run polls, and so to ensure that your presentation runs smoothly.

You also want to make sure your Wi-Fi is strong and your background is clean and clear, to mitigate unnecessary distractions and hold-ups. Your virtual stage presence relies heavily on your platform working well.  

10. Respect the Audience’s Time

We all know how annoying it is to be left waiting. That is why it’s so important to respect our audience’s time. Even if it’s just your presentation they have come to see, make sure that you start on time and end on time. By making sure your equipment is working properly, you can ensure that everything runs smoothly during your presentation. Even if something goes wrong, be conscious of the extra time and see where you can minimize going too far over time.

Your audience will only be willing to wait for so long before they start getting antsy, at both the beginning and the end of your presentation. You don’t want an impatient or agitated audience, as they won’t be as focused on the message you are delivering. When the audience feels like their time and energy is being considered and respected, they will give you their full attention.

These tips and tricks will help you not only give incredible presentations and speeches but help you have a better stage presence.

Take these tools and expand on them in your own way – this will help you incorporate your personality in your presentation and make your performance authentic.  Performing on stage may be scary at first, but with enough practice and effort, you will become the best performer you can possibly be.

If you want to kickstart your public speaking career and continue to develop stage presence, I highly recommend checking out my “Speak Like A Leader” course. This course will help you create the structure and plans you need in order to maximize your stage presence and master your public speaking skills. If you’re finally ready to become an incredible public speaker and change your life, this is the course for you. Don’t wait and miss out, check it out today!

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About Brian Tracy — Brian is recognized as the top sales training and personal success authority in the world today. He has authored more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. You can follow him on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest , Linkedin and Youtube .

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Body Language and Presence: The Secret to Owning a Stage

Being a strong speaker means filling your performance space! Here's how to use body language to achieve presence: the secret to owning a stage.

When you watch and listen to a great speaker, do you go home and thrill to the slides you've seen? Or are you still feeling the power of that person's presence? 

I'll bet you're aware—and maybe a little in awe—of how he or she physically owned the stage. What you were probably seeing, in fact, was literally the picture of confidence.

Owning a stage and being totally confident is a winning combination for you! Learn how it's done with  my  Business Speaker's Library . Find it  on Amazon . Or click on the image below.

The Physical Dimension of Stage Performance

The theaters in the most vibrant theatrical eras—the ancient Greek amphitheaters and the Elizabethan “thrust” stage—were designed for the audience’s response. In Athens, the playing area was circular, and the seats rose steeply so everyone could see and hear clearly. The thrust stage of Shakespeare's time jutted out into the house, so the audience was on three sides. The reason for both of these configurations from different theatrical periods is clear: the physical relationship of actor and audience is as vital as anything spoken by the players.

Consider, on the other hand, the modern conference center setup where you'll present (or listen if you're in the audience) at your next big event. It's huge, and the distance between speaker and spectators is absurd. Looking outward from the speaker's spot, there is row after row of seats leading to the back of the hall, each like an individual trench to be overrun in a questionable charge. Could any design be more effective in limiting the intimacy between speaker and audience? Where's the help for you in that when it comes to knowing how to connect with and influence an audience ?

Owning Your Body to Own the Stage

And yet, your job in that convention hall is still to fill that stage with your presence. You have to own that space, just as you already own your narrative. And the only way to do that is to first acquire ownership of your body.

Want more tips on commanding any stage (or cyberspace) as a speaker? You'll find  101 easy-to-learn skills   in my Public Speaking Handbook,  How to Give a Speech . O n Amazon .

As voice coach Patsy Rodenburg reminds us, “We know long before someone speaks whether we will listen to him or her. We know as soon as an actor walks onto the stage whether he will engage us.” 1

Successful presentations depend on powerful nonverbal communication. Get my Free resource,   "The Body Language Rules: 12 Ways to Be a More Powerful Speaker" .

The first step is this process is knowing how to display confidence . There are many ways to do this that involve both mental and physical resources. But for a start: stand straight, open your chest area (don't hunch over), and move deliberately and energetically. How important is this? A recent study of presentations to raise venture capital found that the best gauge for predicting success wasn’t the person’s credentials or even their pitch. It was how strongly they displayed three specific traits: confidence, comfort, and passionate enthusiasm. 2  

To gain practical knowledge of how to use the physical dimension for stage presence—to make it happen for you on stage—you need to understand the mind-body connection. Your emotional state especially is tied to what you’re doing and showing physically.

Feeling and Showing Works in Both Directions

We seem to understand this in terms of one direction, but not the other. You know, for instance, that the way you feel is often expressed physically. When you’re sad your face usually shows it, and you may even cry; when you’re happy you smile or there's a glint in your eye, etc.

But it happens in the opposite direction as well, so that the way you hold yourself and move creates an emotional response inside you. You can easily test this: Stand tall with your shoulders in place, your feel slightly apart, and your chest out. Don’t you feel confident and ready? Now, allow your shoulders to fall and your chest to cave inward; bend slightly at the spine, and place your hands one palm over the other in your crotch area. That posture is virtually an advertisement for powerlessness!

To be a dynamic performer, don't forget your voice. It's a vital part of achieving presence! Get my Free Tips and Tricks Guide ,  The Voice of Authority: How to Sound Like a Leader .  

As I say to clients, “How you stand affects your standing with your audience.” Your mind and body interpret the physical and the emotional as a continuous connection. After all, they have a lifetime of experience in linking your emotions and how you express them physically! Use this fact to  show  as well as tell listeners what you're thinking and feeling. 

The Body As a Source of Your Power

Rather than worrying about how you occupy a stage (as many speakers do), accept that body language is a tool for making what you say more  evident.  When you amplify your point with an appropriate gesture, the idea behind what you're saying becomes both stronger and visual. 

As TED Talks star Amy Cuddy puts it:

The way you carry yourself is a source of personal power—the kind of power that is the key to presence. It’s the key that allows you to unlock yourself—your abilities, your creativity, your courage, and even your generosity. It doesn’t give you skills or talents you don’t have; it helps you to share the ones you do have. It doesn’t make you smarter or better informed; it makes you more resilient and open. It doesn’t change who you are; it allows you to be who you are. 3

Now a key point: If what your body is doing makes you feel a certain way, why wouldn’t it bring about a similar response in audiences? Your physical stance, posture, gestures, and movement cause an emotional response in listeners, as well as any information you're imparting.

So begin thinking of your body as part of your stage presence. In particular, practice the three techniques below. And here are six exercises to build your skills in body language for speaking .

• Stand and move with confidence. Improve your posture if you need to, and be aware of whether you’re sitting straight or slouching. Develop the habit of maintaining eye contact even if you’re thinking of what to say next. Some people find this a real challenge, as their next point often seems to be on the ceiling or the floor!
• Fill the stage . That really means don’t be afraid to use all parts of the performance space. It may be a few square feet at the end of a conference table in a meeting room, or the wide stage of a convention hall. Audience members’ brains are biased toward processing visual information, and you need to be tapping into that resource.
• Bring up the energy level when you start to speak . Actually, do it before you speak. As soon as listeners observe that you are an energetic person with something exciting to say, they will be excited to hear it!

Accomplish these three things and everyone will get a clear sense that you’re present and the owner of this stage. And that, my friends, is stage presence. 

Do you like horror thrillers and supernatural suspense ? Introducing Scotland Yard police examiner and p sychic, Dr. William Scarlet.  Read  Book #1 in the series,  Red Season   today!

1  Patsy Rodenburg, The Actor Speaks (New York: St. Martin’s, 2000), 15.

2 L. Balachandra, “Keep Calm and Pitch On: Balancing and Moderating Affect in the Entrepreneur’s Pitch,” 2015. Manuscript submitted for publication. Quoted in Amy Cuddy, Presence (Boston: Little, Brown, 2015), 19.

3 Cuddy, 198.

You should follow me on Twitter  here .

Gary Genard   is an actor, author, and expert in public speaking and overcoming speaking fear. His company, The Genard Method offers  live 1:1 Zoom executive coaching   and  corporate group training  worldwide. In 2022 for the ninth consecutive year, Gary has been ranked by Global Gurus as  One of the World’s Top 30 Communication Professionals . He is the author of the Amazon Best-Seller  How to Give a Speech . His second book,  Fearless Speaking ,  was named in 2019 as "One of the 100 Best Confidence Books of All Time." His handbook for presenting in videoconferences,  Speaking Virtually  offers strategies and tools for developing virtual presence in online meetings. His latest book is  Speak for Leadership: An Executive Speech Coach's Secrets for Developing Leadership Presence .  Contact Gary here.  

Tags: leadership skills , stage presence public speaking , body language , public speaking , gestures , executive presence , leadership presence , communication for leadership , voice improvement , how to give a speech , physical presence , natural gestures , stage presence , public speaking and leadership , charismatic speaking , presence , leadership , keynote speech , keynote speaker , fearless speaking , motivational speaker , body language and public speaking , natural body language , effective body language , leadership training , speak for leadership , telepresence , virtual presence , podium presence , motivational , keynote speech training , motivational speaker training , speech training , motivational speech training , stage presence training , presence coach , public speaking presence , developing stage presence , be a confident speaker , be a more confident speaker , improve my confidence

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How to Give a Great Speech Every Time

August 8, 2020

How to give a great speak required practice and a specific skill set. And starts before you even step foot onto the stage. It comprises of three main categories: Getting Ready, Segments of the Speech, and Delivery. A good speech gives you the opportunity to leave the audience with the message you want to get across.

Getting Ready

Delivering a successful speech and the overall impression you give, depends on how well you prepare. This requires having a thorough understanding of your topic and a well-developed presentation. Additionally, it helps to know the stage, what you wear, how you stand and gesture, and how you will handle questions.

Know Your Topic

You probably have a good grasp of the topic on which you have been asked to speak or you would not have been asked. But just knowing the topic isn't enough of a strategy for giving a great speech. If you are still relatively new to the subject area, consider talking to others who have more expertise and doing more through research to prepare.

Being familiar with related topics and pertinent current events or trends is important, particularly if you will be answering questions. If speaking out of town, find out if any local issues or events are related to your speech topic.

Know Your Audience

Depending on the context of the speaking engagement, you might be able to some broad generalizations about the audience. However, don't make too many assumptions. Consider how much the audience already knows about your topic. Consider these questions:

• Will there be anyone who has a special or niche interest?
• Depending on your topic, will there be a contingency who have already taken a position about the topic?
• Will your approach be considered neutral, for, or against?

Answers to these questions should shape your speech and prepare you for follow-up questions.

Script Preparation

Many public speaking experts recommend writing out your speech, even if don’t plan on using notes. Doing this makes it easier to determine whether you are within your time limit and gives you something to edit.

Often speakers end up cutting their original manuscript in half to stay within the allotted time. If you intend to memorize your speech, you will need something to read and memorize.

EXPERT TIP If you use your written speech during delivery, make the font extra-large, in all capital letters, and on half of an 8-1/2 x 11-inch piece of paper or 5 x 7-inch cards. Mark pauses with a slash (/) and circle or underscore words and phrases requiring emphasis. Make sure to number the pages or cards.

The make-up of your audience should influence the language you use in your speech. Don't use technical terms with a nontechnical audience. Avoid phrases or nomenclature your listeners might not understand. Never use acronyms; they may exclude some audience members from your message. Use short sentences.

Above all, speak in a way that is natural for you. Stay away from compound sentences, multisyllable words, parenthetical phrases and qualifications, clichés, and overused phrases such as "you know."

Segments of the Speech

Your speech should have a clear opening, body, and ending. This not only lets the audience focus on what you are saying but it helps you convey the message you want to convey. Each segment provides an opportunity to engage the audience and build upon your overall message.

A strong opening statement will grab attention and set the tone for the rest of the speech. Right away establish the purpose and importance of your speech. There are several strategies you can use.

• Express your main point in an assertive manner   e.g. The company believes...
• Ask a rhetorical question   e.g. What is really needed to beat the pandemic?
• Include one or a series of startling facts   e.g. Are you aware that... ?
• Use a human-interest story
• Tell a joke or humorous anecdote One that bridges smoothly into the body of your speech will not only attract your listeners' attention, but also help you to relax.

No matter how you choose to begin, be sure it's pertinent to the topic of your speech and launches you toward making your main points.

Side Note: If you’ve been invited to give the speech, acknowledge the person who introduces you and thank the group for attending.

The body of your speech needs to support your topic, main message, and key points. There are many ways you can deliver the information you want to convey. However, avoid trying to use all of them as some may not be appropriate for the situation.

Anecdotes and Humor

Anecdotes and jokes, when chosen carefully and delivered naturally, are good tools to connect to your audience. Of course, humor should always be in good taste; in no way should it offend your audience.

Keep your humor relevant. Some apt humor within the speech can help maintain your rapport with your audience. A totally irrelevant joke will be recognized for what it is.

Not everybody can handle humor without some practice. Memorize and practice delivering anecdotes and one-liners because they fall flat if you read them. A pause is essential before the punchline and at the end of an anecdote.

Generally, if you are good at telling jokes privately, you will be able to joke publicly. If you're not a funny person, don't try to be funny at the podium.

Like humor, statistics are desirable, but too much data is hard for a listener to absorb. Save large tables of data, charts and graphs for a handout or packet the audience can take with them. For your presentations, use statistics and date to create complete thoughts or comparisons.

Good visuals add impact to your words. They should, however, support your speech and not overpower it.

Most people today use slide decks that can include charts, maps, and pictures along with text. However, don’t rule out the use of printed jumbo charts, maps, pictures, or other "show and tell" items. They can provide variety to your presentation but make sure everyone in the audience is able to see what you are showing.

Avoid complexity. Each visual should, at a glance, convey a single idea. The more "pictographic" a visual aid is, the better. With data and statistics only show the specific numbers or percentages that you mention.

Ending / Conclusion

The ending of your speech should be synopsis of what you covered by summarizing your main point and repeating your objectives.

A good strategy is to clue the audience that you are about to wrap up. For example, "Before I finish, there's one point I want to emphasize."

End compellingly or give your audience something extra like "In conclusion, let me add just one bit of advice."

Let your audience know how to connect with you via a website, email, or social media. If you will be presenting at at future meetings or seminars, it is appropriate to mention them at this point. Be open to answering questions, if the event is structured to include them.

A speech is only as effective as its delivery.

No matter how much time you spent writing your speech, your effort will be wasted if...

• You appear overly nervous
• You speak in a monotone
• You appear ridge or unmoving
• The audience can't hear you
• Your visuals can’t be seen by everyone

Practice, Practice, Practice

Practice multiple times. To give a natural delivery, you need to be as familiar with the text you’ve written as possible. It helps alleviate nerves the more accustom you are with the flow of the speech.

Practice delivering your speech by yourself in front of a mirror, in front of a family member or co-worker, and/or before a video camera.

This give an opportunity to test your anecdotes and jokes, as well as your stance and gestures. It allows you to check that your visuals are clear, pertinent, and emphatic.

Remember the Clock

Unless you are giving a keynote speech and have been asked to speak for a longer period of time, the best time frame for most speeches is 15 to 20 minutes, with another 10 minutes for questions and answers. Regardless of the subject matter and delivery method, you will lose your audience if you go on longer than this.

If you been given a specific amount of time to speak that is shorter than 15-20 minutes, be vigilant about staying within that time limit. Exceeding your time limit will only create a dissatisfied audience and risk losing their respect.

Your Stage and Props

Arrive at the speech site early so you have a chance to check the ambiance, chat with your hosts and the person who will introduce you and meet the other speakers if there are any.

Note the location from which you will be speaking. If using a slide deck take note of the screen and projector location. Find out how much of the set up you will be responsible for. If using other visual aids, be sure they can be seen by everyone in the audience.

Take time to be sure your presentation slides are in the right order. If possible, see if you can run them through the projector before the audience arrives to identify and address any technical malfunctions.

Your Appearance

Your speech actually starts the moment you enter the room. Dress in a manner that makes you comfortable. However, be aware of nature of the event and audience. For instance, you may be most comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt but that might not be appropriate at an awards ceremony.

Check your clothing and overall appearance before going on stage. That will give an opportunity to catch spinach in your teeth or a coffee stain on your shirt.

Eye Contact and Body Signals

Think of your audience in three segments‚ left, center, and right. Look at, and speak directly to, individuals in each segment.

When speaking from behind a lectern, don't grab onto it and hold tightly with both hands. Your body will tense up and you'll appear even more nervous than you are. If the microphone is removable, you may wish to pick it up and move about.

Gestures can help you look more relaxed and add emphasis to what you are saying. However, like every other element of your speech, they need to be controlled and pertinent. Don't "dead pan." Smile, nod, shrug your shoulders‚ move naturally and appropriately. Stand tall, with your head level and your shoulders square.

While you are speaking, be aware of the signals your audience is sending you. Are they looking right at you or are their eyes wandering? Are they sitting up and listening or slouched and dozing? If you begin to lose too much of your audience, you may have to change your style.

Voice and Diction

A clear, strong voice sets off a speech just as an attractive frame enhances a picture. The general tendency is to speak too softly, so speak louder than you consider normal. Good volume communicates confidence.

A monotone is boring, so change volume and pitch during your speech. Absorb this technique by listening to newscasts and commercials on radio and television. Note how they create interest by changing voice pitch and emphasis. Work to develop enthusiasm and "sell" in your voice.

Diction is important. You need to enunciate without going overboard and appearing stilted. The bottom line is to be clear while appearing natural.

People tend to speak too fast. Pacing and pausing are among the most effective techniques for public speaking. Change speed: go faster for excitement and slower for suspense. You do not have to keep talking. Pauses attract attention and may even trigger applause after strong statements.

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8 public speaking tips from the stage

Theatre director and actor John Bell offers these proven tips to speak in front of an audience like a pro

• Know your audience
• Speak as naturally as possible
• Don’t think about yourself – think about what you are going to say

1. Do your homework

The more you know about your audience beforehand the better. Try and research who they are. Where are they coming from? What do they expect to hear? What would they like to hear? It’s very difficult if you have no idea who they are. So the more background you can get about the audience, the more reassuring that is for you — and the less chance you’ll get a nasty surprise on the day.

2. Think carefully about your script

If I’m planning a short speech, then I tend to learn it pretty much by heart. But if it’s going to be longer, it’s very difficult to get up and speak without notes (unless you are a very accomplished speaker who knows their subject matter inside out and back to front). People don’t mind you reading a script so long as you look up frequently at the audience. You can also allow for a few ad libs and throwaway lines that are quite spontaneous, so that it’s not all just read off the page.

3. Hold your nerve

Even professional speakers get nervous before they step on stage. I see it all the time. Some people suggest taking long deep breaths beforehand but I think you’re more likely to tense up if you do that. I recommend taking short, normal breaths. Don’t think about yourself; think about what you’re about to say. If you’re sure of what you’re saying and believe in it, then you’re well ahead of your audience because they don’t know what to expect.

4. Go on as you mean to start

You should walk to the front of the room confidently, take your place, and then pause. Look around the room to build up a certain amount of expectation, and look around at the audience. Then launch into it.

5. Speak in your own voice

It’s terribly important to speak as naturally as possible. The trap you often see business leaders and politicians fall into is jargon. So avoid language that is pretentious or obscure, and keep it simple.

6. Use your eyes

Look up at the audience. It’s important because otherwise the audience feels like you’re talking into thin air. You see a number of public speakers and business leaders who look at the ceiling or the wall or their notes and they don’t make any kind of connection with their audience. Even if you don’t meet them eye-to-eye, you should at least spread your glance around the crowd so that they know you’re talking to them and not the furniture.

7. Be careful with humour

A dash of laughter can be a terrific relief for your audience — but beware. Most people don’t tell jokes well in business presentations. So avoid trying to tell jokes unless you’re exceptionally good at it. For the rest of us, the best way to introduce humour is through personal anecdotes related to your subject matter. In fact, speaking from experience can be incredibly effective whether you’re trying to get a laugh or just illustrating a point.

Speaking from experience can be incredibly effective whether you’re trying to get a laugh or just illustrating a point.

8. Use your hands (sometimes)

Speakers often worry about what to do with their hands. That’s where notes can be useful because you’ve got something that can be held onto. Or a handheld microphone is always good too. Of course, using your hands can help to demonstrate something or tell a story — but don’t overdo it with hand gestures. You’re public speaking, not dancing.

This article was first published in the February 2015 issue of  Acuity  magazine.

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September 5, 2022

59. how to be a great stage speaker [ft. speaking coach, mike pacchione].

Listen Now :

At the ConvertKit Craft + Commerce conference—which was full of mind-blowing moments for me—I attended a workshop hosted by the mega-talented speaking coach Mike Pacchione and it was so helpful. Public speaking is such an important skill to learn, and it can be a huge advantage in your business if you do it well. He gave tips and tactics I’ve never heard before such as using your body language effectively, pausing between sentences to let the audience absorb what you said, and being strategic about where you stand on stage. We talk about why speaking well is important, what makes a speaker good or bad, and whether it’s possible for a bad speaker to become great. We also talked about the areas most speakers need to improve upon (and how they can do it), three tangible things to make your speaking more entertaining, and so much more.

In this episode, you’ll hear… 

• How Mike got into speaking
• Why public speaking is so important
• The qualities that make a good speaker—and a bad one
• Three areas that most speakers need to improve upon
• Tips for using your physical presence
• How to get speaking opportunities
• The minivan test
• Mike answers your questions

Why speaking is so important for business owners

Many times, if you think of the businessperson you aspire to be, you’re likely going to picture them on a stage. It communicates excellence, ups your perceived value, and provides a massive financial opportunity. Even if you don’t think that speaking is the ultimate goal for you as a business owner, improving those skills will also help you communicate more effectively and create better content. It’s a win-win all around!

The qualities of a good speaker

How do you speak in a way that creates the intended effect within your audience? Mike says the most important thing is to learn to tell really good stories. That story does have to connect to a greater purpose, but stories are what stick with people. If you can master that skill set, you will be far and above most other speakers. The next quality that makes a speaker move from good to great is their delivery. You have to look excited to be up there. If you’re telling a joke, you have to think it’s funny. If it’s an emotional point, reflect the emotion that you’re hoping to evoke out of others. 

Three areas most speakers need to improve on

Public speaking is hard, but there are some things that most people get wrong. If you can up your game here, it will make you stand out from the crowd. The first thing is learning to use slides better—they should include more than just bullet points of your topics. Including nice visuals is great, but even better is using the slide to interact with. The second thing is confidence. Most people can get 60-70% comfortable with public speaking, but it’s hard to reach that 100%. You need to believe that you are the only person in the world that can give this talk—because it’s true.

By now, I hope you’re convinced of the importance of public speaking in your business. Not only that, but you should be ready to start improving those skills and making a strong impression.

Listen to On Your Terms on your favorite podcast platform

Listen to the show on your favorite podcast player and be sure to follow, and leave a review to help introduce the show to more online business owners just like you!

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Resources Discussed in This Episode

• bestspeech.co/sam
• Adam Driver’s TED Talk
• Episode 54. Everything I Learned at ConvertKit’s Craft + Commerce Conference (mind blown!)

If you’re ready to legally protect and grow your online business today, save your seat in my free workshop so you can learn how to take the simple legal steps to protect the business you’ve worked so hard to build. Click here to watch the free workshop so you can get legally legit right now!

Episode Transcript

Download Episode Transcript

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:00:10] Hey, there. Sam Vander Wielen here, and welcome back to On Your Terms. I’m so excited to bring you this episode today with Mike Pacchione.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:00:16] So, just a little backstory. Back in June, I went to the ConvertKit Conference. If you listened to Episode 54, you heard me talk about just how much I learned at that conference. It was so mind blowing. So many shifts. So many, like, big aha moments. So many cool things coming out of the marketing space. And I also attended a workshop that Mike Pacchione – who is a really wonderful and successful and talented speaking coach – put on at ConvertKit.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:00:47] And I just thought it was so helpful. Like, I attended his talk because I am somebody who is comfortable public speaking, but I don’t know if I’m any good at it. And I would just love to be better and improve and see where I could get better. And I would really like to make public speaking a bigger and bigger part of my business.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:01:06] It was something that I was doing before COVID. And then, once COVID happened, you know, all the in-person events stopped, and so I was I feeling a little like, “Oh. I don’t know where to get started again. And I want to get better at this.” And so, attending Mike’s workshop was just perfect timing.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:01:20] The other cool thing about it was that I kind of went into Mike’s workshop thinking, “Okay. He’s probably going to teach us how to not be nervous, and how to structure your talk,” and this kind of stuff. But instead, his tips were about body language and using your physical presence, and where you stand on the stage, and your voice, and pausing in between sentences to allow people to absorb what you’re saying. It was so cool. I just learned so much. I thought he was such a cool guy.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:01:51] So, I’m just really, really excited to share our conversation with you today. We talked about so much. We talked about why we thought speaking is important or why Mike think speaking is important, what makes somebody a good speaker, a bad speaker. Can a “bad speaker” become great, I thought that was one of the best things that we talked about. We talked about areas that most speakers need to improve upon and how they go about doing it. Three tangible things that people can do to make things more entertaining. We talked about what speaking does for our businesses and storytelling. And we talked about who actually needs to be the most excited person in the room. So, I’m really excited to share this with you.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:02:35] Before I get into Mike’s official bio and our conversation, I just want to invite you, if you don’t already, to signup for my emails. I give an email to you all on Monday. And, typically, also on Thursdays I do a little legal Q&A session. But my email list is the best place to be if you want to hear a lot of behind the scenes of what’s going on. I email out about marketing strategies and tips, what’s going on in the podcast. I answer people’s questions, legal questions for their business.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:03:07] So, I have a super simple form that you can click on below and you can fill out to make sure you get my emails. They’re super valuable. I really only try to write you when I have something really good to share. But I would absolutely love to see you there. So, make sure you signup for that below.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:03:24] With that, I am so excited to bring you Mike Pacchione today. So, Mike Pacchione is an international speaker and speech coach, who specializes in helping executives, athletes, and entrepreneurs deliver smart and engaging messages to audiences of all sizes. He has trained more than 10,000 employees from companies like Nike, Microsoft, and Slack. Not so bad, right? So, I am so excited to get into this conversation. I hope you enjoy.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:03:54] And please reach out to me on Instagram, @samvanderwielen, and let me know what you thought of this episode. And while you’re at it, shoot Mike a DM on Instagram. He’s M-P-A-C-C, @mpacc, on Instagram. I can’t wait to see you on the other side.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:04:12] Hey, Mike. Thank you so much for coming on On Your Terms.

Mike Pacchione: [00:04:15] Sam, my new friend. I am stoked to be here.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:04:18] I’m so happy that you’re here. I was telling you before we hopped on that I have never gotten so many questions for a guest speaker, so I’m really excited. Why do you think that people ask more questions about public speaking than any other guests I’ve had before?

Mike Pacchione: [00:04:35] Yeah. That’s so funny. Because I would have a million questions about, like, accounting or legal. But I think because I’ve thought a lot about speaking as a practice and how most people don’t like it. I’m like, “Well, why do most people not like it?”

Mike Pacchione: [00:04:50] And I think there’s this illusion that the best speakers just roll on bed, put on their pants one leg at a time, make all records, and then go out on stage, and clean up. And I think most people don’t realize that it takes a good amount of work. So, if you don’t know that, then you just kind of fall down the cliff of, “Oh, I’m not good at this.” Like, all the feel bad for me’s. Like, “I’m not good at this. Someone else is better. I feel bad for me.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:05:21] There’s a lot that goes into it, and I think a lot of people don’t know that. A lot of people wonder about practices for feeling less nervous. And then, once you get beyond that and there are all these questions about, “Well, how can I get better, and better, and better?” And what’s really exciting is when people start to like it. And then, it’s like, “How can I excel at this thing?” And that’s the best.

Mike Pacchione: [00:05:40] I always tell people this, I stopped playing sports a long time ago. The last time there was any applause for me playing sports is when I was 22. And when I say any applause, there was, like, eight people on the sideline. It’s one of the only places after you graduate college, unless you’re a pro athlete, where you can feel the adrenaline rush of performance and applause. And once you move beyond being frightened of it and start to understand what you’re doing a little bit, I mean, it is the best.

Mike Pacchione: [00:06:19] And the feeling of nailing a speech, walking up the stage, and not sitting there saying, “Oh, I forgot this” or “Oh, I should have said this” or “Oh, I was too nervous”. The feeling of not having any abandon, just walking off the stage knowing that you accomplished what you can accomplish, that is the best. And I love more than anything coaching people to do that.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:06:41] Yeah. That is so cool. I mean, I feel like that about speaking. I’m the same way. I get a thrill out of it. So, I understand.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:06:50] So, speaking of helping people do that, can you tell everybody about what you do and how you help people?

Mike Pacchione: [00:06:56] Yeah. Totally. You, listening to this right now, you’ve got a great idea in your head, and I help you get that idea out of your head in a way that snaps, and crackles and pops with the audience. And it doesn’t just pop at them, but motivates them to do something. And I help you do that better than you can imagine that you could.

Mike Pacchione: [00:07:16] So, I help you with figuring out creative ways of bringing that idea to life. And how to pair that creative idea with slides. Your slides should not be your notes, which a lot of people do that. Like, slides are treated like a big note card. Your speech should go with the slides. And then, we try to coordinate the delivery with that too. And I help people with all three aspects of that. I help you understand it so that you’re not just on stage trying to be Mike. It should be you. It should be Sam. Because I think it should be whoever you are, listening, presenting, not me. But I help you do that to the best of your ability. And I help train you for that so that you can keep doing it again and again and again.

Mike Pacchione: [00:07:59] I’m happy to help people more than once. But the idea is that you work with me one time, and then after that maybe you need a clean up, but you’re good to go.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:08:07] Yeah. That’s awesome.

Mike Pacchione: [00:08:09] And it’s the coolest thing. I mean, I’m thinking of my guy, Neel Dhingra, came to me. This guy is like a multimillionaire. And he’s so boring when he starts, and he told me that. He was like, “Yeah. I have no life in my presentation.” And these days, this giant conference, and brings Gary V. in, and people love Gary V. but they also love Neel, and he’s on the same stage and he’s not intimidated. It’s the coolest thing I love to see. So, I’m babbling a little bit but I love helping people so much.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:08:43] No. That’s awesome. I love that you love what you do. And you’ve helped a couple people here and there. I was joking on Instagram the other day. I said, “This is guy is already up in commerce doing alright. He’s helped a couple people.” But tell me, like, what were you doing before this? How did you get into speaking and coaching?

Mike Pacchione: [00:08:57] A lot of people have speech anxiety. I never did – let me rewind. The only times I ever had speech anxiety where times when I didn’t put the work in. So, to me, it wasn’t fair to blame public speaking for that. So, same as not studying for tests, but if I take the test in front of everybody, everybody is watching me try to BS an essay, it’s the same feeling, it’s just not public.

Mike Pacchione: [00:09:28] So, to me, I never blame public speaking for that. When I was in third grade, I used to do show and tell and everybody look forward to me, and I don’t want to overdo it. It wasn’t quite hushed tones. But people were like, “Oh, Mike’s going now, let’s pay attention.” All the way through college, I experimented with public speaking in different ways of doing it, and storytelling, and I always loved it.

Mike Pacchione: [00:09:55] I never knew it was something you could do for a career. So, to me, the best thing I could do would to be a professor or be a teacher and be really interesting. When I got to college, I had this really, really awesome teacher. He still teaches there. I went to University of Richmond, Dr. Scott Johnson. And he came into class and he was funny. Like, he would make the content come alive with jokes and stories. And I was like, “Oh, you can do that?” I mean, that was freshman year.

Mike Pacchione: [00:10:24] And from then moving on, in the back of my mind I was like, “Yeah. Maybe I should be a college professor,” so I went to grad school for that. I learned pretty quickly that being a college professor has little to do with teaching.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:10:35] Yes. That’s my husband’s life.

Mike Pacchione: [00:10:38] Oh, I did not know that. What amount of time does he spent teaching versus research and grading?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:10:43] Two percent. It’s like nothing. He’s whole job is research.

Mike Pacchione: [00:10:47] When I learned that, I moved across the country. I moved all the way to Portland. I get there and I’m like, “Is this it?” But I didn’t have anything else to do. I mean, I was trying to find a plan B, so I just kept going to school. I graduated. Got a job. And I was an adjunct on the side. I mean, I had like God smiling on me [inaudible].

Mike Pacchione: [00:11:08] There’s a guy from Nike who sat in on the class. He wasn’t even in my class, but I was an adjunct, his girlfriend was there. He comes up to me on a break, he says, “Hey, you’re really an engaging presenter. Would you want to present at Nike sometime?” “Okay.”

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:11:21] Did your heart stop? I think mine would have.

Mike Pacchione: [00:11:25] It seems like something I should do. At the time, I don’t know anything. I don’t know if I’m not going to paid $100 or 1,000, is it going to be zero? What is it going to be? I just knew I should say yes. I put together a presentation. It was one of the few times I was intimidated of the audience, not ahead of time, but when I got on stage. I still remember being there, I got spotlight on me that it shares it out. And anybody from Nike could have been there. Phil Knight could have been there. I guess, LeBron, if he was on campus, could have been there.

Mike Pacchione: [00:11:56] I remember looking out and people weren’t, like, smiling or laughing the way college students were. And I just remember thinking like, “Should I be entertaining them?” It was weird. I had a microphone, you know, all these things I wasn’t used to. And I just let the audience defeat me a little bit even though nobody actually said anything. By all accounts, it went well. But it left me feeling like I could have done more and I could have done better.

Mike Pacchione: [00:12:26] So, from that moment on, I was like, “Okay. But that was fun. What can I do about this?” And I did a light amount of research. I found this company in the Bay Area called Duarte. I sent a really good email to the CEO. It was perfect timing, they were just expanding their academy. They needed people who understood story, which was me. And they needed people with teaching experience, which was also me. It was perfect timing.

Mike Pacchione: [00:12:54] I worked there for seven years. I went to just about every big company you can name. I did trainings there. I flew all over the world. And I just loved it. Because it was the same or similar script every single time, I felt like, “Okay. Well, I can do the thing where I’m presenting and it’s just the same every single time and I put no work into it, and it still goes well because the stuff is really good.” But to my credit, I would try to experiment with what would make people understand even more and even more and even more than that. And timing things, when to take breaks. If I change the phrasing on this joke, how would it sound?

Mike Pacchione: [00:13:39] And from that, I feel like I went in knowing a lot, learned more there. And then, the extra stuff that I did on the side would really, really help me with things like learning how to tell a story, with things like interacting with slides, knowing what people’s attention spans were like. And, really, a better understanding of what people’s pain points were.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:14:00] That’s awesome.

Mike Pacchione: [00:14:03] Yeah. Long answer to your question. But, I guess, my summary of that is when I look at my life, I am a pretty indecisive person. But speaking with the one realm, it always made sense. And, to me, it really feels like a calling.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:14:21] That’s awesome. It speaks to you. And it sounds to me like when you were at University of Richmond, Professor Johnson made you realize how transformative the way that you tell a story. Like, I could tell the same story in a boring way and he can say it in a less dynamic way, and you really took something from it. So, it sounds to me like you really took away the power of telling a good story being a dynamic interesting speaker.

Mike Pacchione: [00:14:48] Absolutely. I don’t know, do you look back, like, how many teachers did you have all the way through law school, forgetting the content, just them as a teacher held your attention? Do you have anybody?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:15:05] Not many. I mean, there was maybe one in law school – funny because it actually touches on something you taught us at the ConvertKit Conference – she was my torts professor in law school. And so, in torts, you’re learning like what is negligence, what’s assault, battering, all these kind of fun crimes. And so, she would act them out. She would have us act them out.

Mike Pacchione: [00:15:25] What?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:15:25] Yeah. So, like what we would learn, I remember to this day, this is the reason I remember what the self-defense rules are, is because she would have two people stand up in front of the classroom and one person would pretend to slap the other. But then, she would give a toy gun to the other person. So, that’s how she taught us. Like, if someone slaps you, you’re not allowed to shoot them in self-defense. You could slap them back, that’s the equivalent of what self-defense is. If someone shoots at you, then you could shoot back. And so, she would have us act this out.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:15:55] And so, that was the only dynamic law school teacher. Everyone else was like, “And on page 75 -” it was awful.

Mike Pacchione: [00:16:01] Totally. That’s what everybody does. And that’s what people in the court world too.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:16:05] Yes. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly.

Mike Pacchione: [00:16:07] But that’s amazing. How long ago was that?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:16:10] Yeah. That was in 2009.

Mike Pacchione: [00:16:12] 2009, and that still sticks with you.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:16:14] Always. I always remember slap for a slap, punch for a punch. And I just remember everybody was, like, goofing off and pretending to really shock somebody. It was pretty funny.

Mike Pacchione: [00:16:27] But there not that many teachers who put that effort in.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:16:32] No. Shoutout to Professor Mutcherson at Rutgers.

Mike Pacchione: [00:16:38] So, good. Because the easy thing is, “Here’s what the homework was. Let’s slowly discuss this exact thing that you read already, for me to mind whether you should have done the reading anyway, if we’re just going to talk about it in class.”

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:16:49] And it’s really easy to do that in our business, too, where the people who are listening are experts at what they do. And so, people get into a very teach-y mindset of like, “Here are five things you need to know about Keto. Here are 12 things you need to know about lifting in this way.” Like, whatever. And so, they just kind of teach but I don’t think they keep it more conversational or even interesting. I don’t know, it’s a little bit flat. It can be flat.

Mike Pacchione: [00:16:49] Yeah. Can we talk about that for a second? This is one of the things I try to communicate to people, there’s a big difference between a blog post and a presentation. Because a blog post can be that, “Here are the five things that you need to do.” A presentation can also be the five things that you need to do, but you need to come up with a way to make those five things come alive on stage. Otherwise, why don’t I just read the blog post?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:17:36] Yeah. This is true. I can understand that. By the way, why do you think speaking is so important for us? What does it do for us as people or for the people listening or for our businesses?

Mike Pacchione: [00:17:52] I think if you want to live your life on your terms – final drop —

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:17:55] Shoutout.

Mike Pacchione: [00:17:57] … I think it’s one of the best ways to live a life on your terms. I mean, if you think about it, think about the business person that you aspire to be, I guess it depends a little bit on what your field is, but I think most of the time that’s someone who is on a stage. And that’s not a coincidence because that communicates excellence. If you do well, it ups your perceived value. And, frankly, the financial opportunity that comes with speaking on stage is tremendous.

Mike Pacchione: [00:18:28] And I’m not even talking about getting paid this week necessarily. I mean, that’s great. There are plenty of people who get paid 10, 20, or more than that to speak from stage. But a lot of times, it’s, “Oh. What’s the ConvertKit?” – the conference we went to. I don’t know how many people went to that conference thinking to themselves, “I need to learn how to present from stage.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:18:56] But the amount of people that I talked to after my workshop who then wanted to do it, it’s way up there. And I don’t know exactly how much money that will make for me. And I certainly didn’t look at that as the reason why I said yes to it. But it will definitely be five figures. So, did Nathan Barry from ConvertKit give a check for 10,000 to speak on stage? No. Will I make at least that? Yeah.

Mike Pacchione: [00:19:23] That happens all the time. If you’re an expert in your field and you’re speaking from stage, the perceived value goes up and up and up. And I think we all know that and that’s something that can be a career or it can be a really nice thing on the side, but it certainly helps with marketing ourselves, it helps with business opportunity. And I guess the one thing I haven’t said yet is it helps with your own confidence.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:19:49] That’s true.

Mike Pacchione: [00:19:51] Because there’s so much happening on your own stage. There’s, “Do I know the content? Do I know the slide order? Am I looking at people? What feedback are they giving me? That woman over there looks confused, should I do something about it? How much time do I have left?” There’s a lot going on at the same time, but if you can nail it, it’s the best feeling.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:20:11] Yeah. That makes sense. I mean, you put yourself in front of the right people. I think I told you a couple weeks ago, right before COVID, it was one of my biggest speaking opportunities that I had gotten to date. And I still get customers all the time who say, “I saw you speak at that conference,” and they’ve just waiting to purchase or whatever. So, it’s cool.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:20:31] But I also feel like everybody has different expression styles. And I have both speaking and writing, so I feel like I write differently than I speak. And I write sometimes more personal stuff, especially to my email list. And then, I like speaking. I like being in that position of being a bit more entertaining but also educating, and helping somebody, to motivate them. So, it’s different. I think people can find their style that way.

Mike Pacchione: [00:20:57] So, do you feel like you have a different voice on stage versus in writing?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:21:02] Yeah. It’s interesting, somebody who just really loves my email list, I feel like I’m always writing this kind of more emotional connectedness things to them. And on stage, I feel very excited by the idea of being up there and helping somebody, motivating them to take the next step. I feed off of that energy and I love being in that position. And as I told you, I’m not somebody who likes attention so I find it interesting that I like to be up there. But I enjoy that for some reason, that perspective.

Mike Pacchione: [00:21:35] That’s a funny thing, too. I like attention probably three times a year.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:21:40] On stage?

Mike Pacchione: [00:21:41] Yes.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:21:43] Yeah. Yeah. If I, like, win the lottery or something, I’ll take that attention. Otherwise, everyone leave me alone. That’s how I feel. Yeah, that’s how I feel.

Mike Pacchione: [00:21:55] So, actually that’s an interesting thing too. So, you don’t love attention but you’re good with being on stage.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:22:03] Yeah. Because I’m in a position of authority. I don’t mean a weird domineering way. I mean, I feel confident when I’m up there speaking. I’m not yelling at anybody. But I feel like I know I’m up there and everyone is looking to me because I’m supposed to be the expert, that’s what they tell me. But I find if I know what I’m talking about and I’m comfortable with what I’m talking about, like the substance, then I feel very comfortable. But, like, at my wedding, I ran down the aisle because I hated the fact that everyone was looking.

Mike Pacchione: [00:22:33] Wait a minute. We both ran down the aisle at our weddings?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:22:37] You did too?

Mike Pacchione: [00:22:38] Yes.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:22:40] I bolted. My poor dad was like, “Can you slow down?” It’s like, “No. We are going to get up there now because everyone is looking at me. And I would rather slink away into the darkness.” But I can be up on stage and I’m in my element. And I think a lot of people feel that way when they’re speaking about something that they know.

Mike Pacchione: [00:22:58] Can I say something that’s a little bit off topic but you can segue?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:23:02] Sure.

Mike Pacchione: [00:23:03] Speaking of weddings, okay, y’all, here’s a good reason to rehearse. Let people think it’s cool to wing it and I’ll just get on stage and I’ll see what happens. People love doing that. I think most of the time when people love doing that is because, to them, it’s like back when you were in high school, you tried to memorize a speech and teachers are back in the room with his or her red pen. And if you got a word wrong, it was minus two. I think a lot of us never dropped that feeling that’s in the back of our head.

Mike Pacchione: [00:23:33] So, a way to avoid that feeling is just to wing it because then there’s no scripts. There’s nothing to get wrong. But that is not good for the audience. It’s really rare that somebody is going to pull that off.

Mike Pacchione: [00:23:42] And if I can connect this to weddings for a minute, I sometimes tell these to people, like see what I mean, “Did you get married?” “Yeah.” “Tell me what the wedding was like,” and they tell me what the wedding was like. “What about the day before?” “Yeah. We had a rehearsal.” I’m like, “Okay. What was the rehearsal? What did you rehearse?” “Walking down the aisle, kissing the bride.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:24:05] So, if you’re rehearsing walking and kissing, two things —

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:24:09] And standing.

Mike Pacchione: [00:24:11] And standing, yeah.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:24:13] Oh, and sitting.

Mike Pacchione: [00:24:15] You rehearse those things, right? Do you think maybe you should rehearse this big presentation in front of a thousand people?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:24:20] That sounds like a good idea.

Mike Pacchione: [00:24:23] That’s my thought.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:24:25] Yeah. That makes a lot of sense to me. And so, what do you think makes a good speaker? We’ve talked a lot about good speakers, but what are those qualities?

Mike Pacchione: [00:24:37] Yeah. So, when you say a good speaker, Sam, actually, are you talking about the words they say, or how they say them, or both?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:24:44] That’s a good question. I would say, like, the person who reaches the intended effect of the audience. Like you said in the beginning, you want people to leave there motivated and feeling inspired, learning something, paying attention. So, what are the qualities of a person who can do that?

Mike Pacchione: [00:25:03] Number one, the ability to tell really good stories. It can’t be 45 minutes of stories. Like, you do have to connect that to a greater point and everything. But stories, come on, we know this. These are things that stick with people. So, if you can tell stories well – and I have a whole thing about that – if you can ramp up the tension on stories, and edit it the right way, and describe people quickly, I love helping people with that. That is thing number one that jumps to mind, for sure.

Mike Pacchione: [00:25:03] Thing number two is the delivery thing that jumps to mind. The person needs to look like they enjoy being there. And the advice I always give people is, even if you’ve given this talk 74 times, try to find that part of your brain that is absolutely amused with your own material. If it’s a joke, “Oh, my gosh. This joke is so funny.” If it’s a point, the mindset that you need to have for that particular point is like, “This is really insightful and helpful to people.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:26:04] I don’t mean that you get physical. But if you have a position of my material is helpful to other folks, then the natural extension of that should be I am excited to share this with you. And looking genuinely or being genuinely enthused about that is pretty huge. One of the things I was trying to tell people, if you don’t seem excited by your own material, there’s no way the audience will be. There’s no way.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:26:30] I think that’s a really good tip. I mean, I say the same thing about business stuff all the time of, like, people will put out products that they’re not super excited about. Like, that’s come true in your marketing so easily. And so, I could definitely see that on stage too.

Mike Pacchione: [00:26:44] And then, the third thing I’ll say that jumps to mind – and, obviously, I could give 100 – is it needs to be you. So, Sam needs to be Sam. When I work with people, I will often write sections of their talk and I’ll say, “Okay. Here’s what the intro should sound like,” but it needs to be Sam talking, not Mike. So, put this in Sam language. And that means not just for you. I don’t know, maybe I need cursing, right? So, that might be it.

Mike Pacchione: [00:27:12] But it also means some of your quirks are great to share from stage, because then the audience feels like they’re getting to know you more. So, the same is with podcast and all these things. It’s not just law. It’s law by Sam.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:27:27] Yeah. Yeah. You got to do it on your terms.

Mike Pacchione: [00:27:30] Yes. On your terms.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:27:31] We’re like plugging the show here. Except they’re already listening. So, I guess on the flip side then, what are some qualities that make somebody either a bad speaker or a bad speech itself?

Mike Pacchione: [00:27:48] Yeah. I think the first thing that jumps to mind is the speech is too much about the presenter, and I mean that in a couple of different ways. So, that can mean the speech is very braggy, which probably was my first. The other thing that can look like is you can tell that the speaker has overestimated what is at stake and they’ve made it entirely about their own performance rather than about how it feels to the audience. And you see that all the time.

Mike Pacchione: [00:28:11] Sometimes people actually say out loud I am nervous or I don’t like public speaking. So, it’s the same thing, the audience is going to follow whatever emotion you put out there. You just made the audience real nervous.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:28:25] Yeah. I have, like, crippling secondhand embarrassment syndrome, so I start to freak out when I see other people are really nervous and are embarrassed. And that actually happened a couple of times at the conference where somebody would say out loud or you could just tell so much from their body language. And I was sweating, I couldn’t deal with it. I feel for them.

Mike Pacchione: [00:28:48] Isn’t that how you want the audience to feel, right?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:28:50] Yeah. I feel for them and you want to just be like, “You got this. Just don’t say it out loud.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:28:56] It’s so funny, my friend, Brett, once said someone do that for him. So, I don’t think he ever got on a stage after this. But he was asked to give a speech. I don’t remember if he didn’t rehearse or he just go really nervous or what happened, but he just froze. Someone in the audience just shouted out, “You’ve got this, Brett.”

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:29:17] Oh, that’s so nice.

Mike Pacchione: [00:29:18] It’s so nice. It helped him in that day, and I think it was crippling long term.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:29:23] Yeah. Yeah. Do you think that somebody who is that nervous about getting on stage can overcome it?

Mike Pacchione: [00:29:29] Yes, for sure.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:29:29] So, you can change.

Mike Pacchione: [00:29:32] Yeah. On my podcast, I had Viktoria Harrison, so she’s an interesting one. She is married to Scott Harrison, Scott is the founder – I forget what his position is – but he’s a founder of Charity: Water. And his wife, Viktoria, worked there for a long time, she was, like, lead designer. Scott is the most natural speaker I’ve ever seen. And as per Viktoria, he doesn’t rehearse. He just stands up there and get it. He’s the person who actually is able to do that whatever he thinks [inaudible].

Mike Pacchione: [00:30:00] So, she thought that’s just what speakers did. Scott taps her to speak – I can’t remember who the audience was – but big investors of some sort. Just, “Hey, Vik. Just give an update on X, Y, and Z.” She just totally froze. Scott had to get up there and relieve her. She refers to it as “The Incident.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:30:19] So, she came up with this whole plan afterwards, where she’s like, Phase 1: I am going to stand in front of a group and read to them. That was Phase 1. Church Basement does that for a group. Steadily gives herself a little bit of a bigger challenge, a little bit of a bigger challenge, a little bit of a bigger challenge.

Mike Pacchione: [00:30:39] This was amazing but I actually factored into this because I was speaking at an event. I left early. I was like, “Yeah. I got to go rehearse.” She said, “Rehearse?” So, when she found out that good speakers actually rehearse, outside of Scott who is a mutant, then she started rehearsing. Now, she loves speaking. So, you can get better, for sure.

Mike Pacchione: [00:30:59] You know, there are a few different ways of doing that, one of them is to almost get in the version of you that couldn’t hack it the first time. That’s one strategy. If you’re motivated by, “I’m going to overdo this.” But I think, really, just treating it as a challenge and trying to get a little bit better, a little bit better, a little bit better. Here’s the thing, most people never do that. Most people just accept their fate when it comes to speaking, “Oh, I’m not good at this.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:30:59] So, the bar for it is really low. And if you just implement a little bit at a time, “Hey, this week I’m just going to work on something a little more interesting. This week I’m just going to try to be a little more comfortable. This week I’m going to try a story, like, people don’t try this stuff.” So, if you can do anything at all, you’d be surprised at how quickly you can clear that by.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:31:40] Yeah. Yeah. I love that. And shoutout to Viktoria for working that, that’s amazing. And I think that will help a lot of people feel better. And, also, I’m always trying to encourage, it’s not like manifesting becoming a better speaker. It’s work and so you have to say, “I want the end result which is to be on stage or to be a more dynamic speaker, to start getting paid to speak,” or whatever. That might mean that there are some things you have to work on. It’s not either you stay at home behind your MacBook or you’re giving a TEDx Talk. So, there’s a lot in between and we can work at it.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:32:13] I also want to encourage everyone to remember that, like, this is also why I take such a brick-by-brick strategy of everything you do builds on this. Like, getting on Instagram and talking to your camera, and worrying what people are going to say to you back to that. Or doing Instagram Lives or starting a YouTube channel, starting a podcast, writing to your email list, that’s all starting to express yourself and starting to get comfortable telling your story and teaching, stepping into authority, and all of that.

Mike Pacchione: [00:32:38] It was interesting, so do you feel like Glo is the speaker at Craft+Commerce?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:32:42] Yeah. She was so good. Yeah, she’s so funny. And also, by the way, she was totally entertained by her own speech, she laughed half the time. I love it. If that was me, I would laugh at myself. I love that.

Mike Pacchione: [00:32:42] I was asking Glo about this. I said, “Did you ever have a bad speech?” And she said yeah. She had a mortifying one.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:32:58] Really? That’s [inaudible].

Mike Pacchione: [00:32:59] Right. You would never think that because she just owned being on stage, funny, impersonating her mom, all of it. I asked her what made the difference for her, and she actually said something similar to what you just said. She said, “Doing all the coaching on Zoom. Coaching other people and getting used to hearing her own voice, and try to make points, and telling stories.” That’s what made the difference for her. And she’s phenomenal. She speaks twice a month, and certainly could speak more if she wanted to. She’s also a crazy person that writes a new speech every single time.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:33:27] Yeah. That’s so wild. That’s so exhausting. She was great. And, yeah, she’s totally right. One thing that people know how much with everything, whether it’s speaking or writing content, filming videos, doing podcast, how many at-bats there are, and there are strikeouts, and there are fouls, and there are singles and doubles, and then there are homers. But everybody sees it as either, “I’m not going to go up to bat or I’m going to hit a homer,” there’s just so much in between. And I don’t think they realize if you want to hit the homer, there’s going to be a ton of singles for a lot of them.

Mike Pacchione: [00:34:01] And I think people don’t realize that even those things, Instagram Live and stuff – maybe a Live is a little bit different – Instagram Stories, TikTok, Reels, a lot of things that you see going viral are not the first draft.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:34:17] Yeah. That too, yeah.

Mike Pacchione: [00:34:18] So, it’s the same thing as speaking where it’s, “Oh, my gosh. She’s really good at it.” You don’t know if she’s been recording for three hours, post-take 17. But that happens all the time. So, it’s singles and it’s a lot of swing and miss that nobody else saw.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:34:36] Yeah. I could see that. I mean, you see a lot of speakers and people who want to speak more, what do you feel are three areas that you typically need to be improved upon the most?

Mike Pacchione: [00:34:48] So, I think one of those is the way that people use their slides. There’s a couple of inversions of that. One, I kind of mocked earlier, which is when people put their notes on a slide. I think because of the prevalence of TikToks and YouTube videos, there’s a good population that begun to see, “Oh, this is meant to be more than just a note card with bullet points.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:35:13] So, phase two of that is being a little more creative, a little more visual, using Canva, things like that, also very good. But the master level, which is what I always try to move people towards, is, it’s not just using Canva, it’s not just being visual, but it’s interacting with the slide itself. So, sometimes the slide is a character. Sometimes the slide can be part of the joke. But the backgrounds of the slide is helping you to tell the story out loud. And if you start thinking that way, instead of just I’m not going to do bullet points or I’m going to find some GIFs – I don’t know how you say it.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:35:53] Yeah. I never know. But there were a lot of them at the conference, I noticed. Like, a lot.

Mike Pacchione: [00:35:56] Totally. And it’s good. But what’s even better is if that GIF is a joke on its own. Or if you say something and the GIF answers it. Using the slide as part of the whole act is a really, really good creative one that not many people do.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:36:14] I see what you mean. That would be really cool. Yeah, I could see that being very impactful.

Mike Pacchione: [00:36:14] Okay. So, let me catch this, everybody says public speaking is the number one fear. I always tell people, I don’t totally trust those studies. My joke is, I have difficulty believing that anyone in a den of vipers is looking around like, “Well, it’s not giving the future update right now.”

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:36:39] Probably I was giving a speech.

Mike Pacchione: [00:36:43] So, I really doubt that it’s actually the number one fear. But, again, people are nervous. I think most people, once you become more confident in yourself, that’s no longer a thing. But what is a thing is that you’re only 60 or 70 percent confident. And you’re not 100 percent there. So, said differently, you believe you know your stuff but you don’t believe you’re the only person that can give this talk.

Mike Pacchione: [00:37:10] One of the things that I always try to tell people, you were the only person in the world that can give this talk. Let’s do Sam. You’re not the only lawyer. Obviously, you’re not the only lawyer from Rutgers. You’re not the only lawyer in New York. You’re not the only online lawyer. You’re not the only online lawyer who does contracts. But you’re the only online lawyer who does contracts who was born in Philadelphia, and loves her dad that much, and has all those stories. So, that’s another place where you have to come alive on stage. But, also, you have to believe that. You have to believe that you’re the right one to give this talk.

Mike Pacchione: [00:37:36] And I always tell the story, I was presenting at a conference called Think Better, Live Better. This was, like, four or five years ago. Keep in mind what I do for a job. I am totally confident flying there. I know it’s a good speech. I arrived the day before. We’re doing, like, the walkthrough, click through the slides, make sure everything looks the right way. Every other speaker at the conference is selling a book in the back.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:38:09] I remember you telling us this, yeah.

Mike Pacchione: [00:38:11] At this point, I don’t even have a website. And I was just thinking to myself, “I can’t do this. I don’t deserve to be here.” I considered whether I should go to that organizer and ask out. But I really did this. I said, “No. Here’s why you’re the right one to give this talk. This is my experience. These stories are mine. Nobody else knows these stories. Nobody else can handle them. I thought through this. I know how to do the slides. I have X number of years experience doing that.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:38:42] And when you start thinking that way and thinking of your specific backgrounds, then you can walk out on stage knowing that you were the right person to present. Because if you’re 60 percent confident or 70, 80 percent confident, what that means is if you get a good crowd, you’re going to fine. Sometimes you don’t get a good crowd, and you need to be able to believe it anyway.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:39:09] Have you ever felt lost about where to begin with the legal side of protecting your online business? Some people say you can just wing it at the beginning and get officially set up later. Not a good idea, by the way. Whether you’re afraid to even start working with clients because you don’t want to do something wrong legally and then get in trouble or your business is growing and you sort of forgot to take care of the legal pieces, I’ve got you.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:39:31] I don’t want you to live in fear of the internet police coming after you and your business. But you do have to do certain things and get certain things in place in order to legally and safely run your business online. As much as it just feels like an unregulated Wild Wild West online, that is very much not the case.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:39:48] As an attorney turned entrepreneur and former corporate litigator, I can assure you that there are rules. There are real steps that everybody who runs or starts an online business needs to take. And you’re not behind at all. We can get you set up and following the rules right away. In fact, we can even do it today.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:40:05] I want to teach you the five very simple steps to take to legally protect and grow your online business. You don’t need an MBA to be a successful entrepreneur and stay out of legal hot water. But you do need to dot your legal i’s and cross your t’s in a few key areas that can’t be skipped. That’s exactly what I’ll teach you in my free one hour legal workshop called Five Steps to Legally Protect and Grow Your Online Business. Just head to mylegalworkshop.com, drop in your email address, pick the time, and I’ll send you a link to watch the workshop video whenever you have time.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:40:34] This is the best place to begin if you’re just getting started legally legitimizing your business, so head on over to mylegalworkshop.com and sign up to watch Five Steps to Legally Protect and Grow Your Online Business now.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:40:49] Should the crowd’s reaction not faze you one way or the other? Or not dictate whether or not your speech is a good speech, I guess that’s how I should put it?

Mike Pacchione: [00:41:00] Yeah. I mean, it should faze you, right? I mean, if it does, laughing and clapping and everything, that should be pretty great. And if they’re bored, that should matter, too, and you should adjust to them. But the first sentence when you deliver on stage, you need to be delivering that with total confidence.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:41:18] And so, I was also thinking so much of what you shared at ConvertKit that I thought was really helpful and interesting was about how we used our physical presence on stage, like our bodies, our voices. So, can you talk to people a little bit about what some of your tips were around that?

Mike Pacchione: [00:41:37] Yeah. Completely. I think whether you’re presenting virtually or whether you’re in the same room with people, regardless, it’s like, “Okay. You’re the expert. Right now, I’ve got this great idea in my head. And, again, I’m trying to get it to snap and crackle and pop in yours.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:41:50] Well, how can that happen? Sometimes I write it really well. But that can sure help if I used the stage the right way, if I use my voice the right way. If I highlight with my voice this is the important part. Or if I use the stage. Some of the things you can do on stage, if you’re contrasting two different ideas, which a lot of time we are, Sam is contrasting life without contrast, and be really nervous, and never knowing, blah, blah, blah. Sam should just use one side of the stage whenever she’s that character.

Mike Pacchione: [00:42:20] And if she wants a contrast it to the guy who’s smartly paid $497 or whatever –

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:42:26] Hey, I’m stupid in math.

Mike Pacchione: [00:42:28] Okay. Whatever the cost is, it would be worth $497. But using the other side of the stage to show that same exact person that now they have a contract and now they can stop exerting all this Benkara on things that probably are not why they got into the business in the first place. So, using different sides of the stage for something, that’s a really big one.

Mike Pacchione: [00:42:49] But I think the most effective one, I guess, can just be used in the most different types of ways would be your voice. Because that’s true whether you’re presenting virtually, on the phone, frankly, when you’re at a meal, try either making your voice go really loud or really soft. And one of the greatest things is you can make anything sound important if all of a sudden your voice gets softer. I mean, if you really want to go for it, add a pause there.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:43:22] Yes. I remember you talked a lot about the pause and the timing. That was really interesting.

Mike Pacchione: [00:43:28] Okay. Ready. I love tacos. Tacos is so important. It’s the most important thing in the world.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:43:38] I think everyone can agree with that.

Mike Pacchione: [00:43:41] But, yeah, pausing a really big one. Let’s talk about that for a second. One of the points that I try to make with people, and this is especially true when you’re presenting virtually, people have often been told at some point in your public speaking career, you talk to fast. You got to slow it down. Sam, you got to slow it down.

Mike Pacchione: [00:43:56] It’s not actually what they mean. Right now, I am guessing you got a lot of people listening to this podcast, and I’m guessing at least some of you are listening at 1.25, 1.5, maybe 2X speed, and they’re totally able to track everything. Well, how can that be that case if I talk too fast and you talk too fast? Or one of your other guests talks too fast?

Mike Pacchione: [00:44:17] So, here’s my point, it’s not actually talk too fast. It’s that you don’t give the audience a chance to catch up. So, the TED Talk that I was pointing people to is Adam Driver, and just watch him in there do that. Adam Driver like Kylo Ren from the Star Wars movies, he talks super, super fast but he pauses, and he gives the audience a chance to catch up.

Mike Pacchione: [00:44:36] And a good way that you can implement that, what you would naturally do is you would write your speech out, and you would write your notes out, and you would do it in paragraph form. A good way to force yourself to pause a little bit is to write it more like song lyrics. You’re naturally taking a pause every, like, seven or eight words. Because it’s almost impossible to speak too fast. But it’s possible to lose the audience if you were speaking fast and you’re not giving the audience a chance to catch up.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:45:04] That makes a lot of sense. I remember you saying about pausing and breathing. That could be another thing. It’s very difficult to breathe while you talk.

Mike Pacchione: [00:45:11] It is. Remember that workshop that we did, I called a couple of people up to speak, and Grace was the last one.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:45:21] Yes. She was so funny.

Mike Pacchione: [00:45:23] She’s making me nervous. She wasn’t breathing. A lot of people, and for whatever reason it tends to be women, they don’t breathe. And a lot of times you see the red blotches on someone’s throat, probably because they’re not breathing.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:45:38] Because we get nervous, I don’t know. We got to breathe. But I thought it was helpful when you said that about pausing between sentences about taking a breath not only help us to do that. But I can only see for somebody, like myself when I talk about legal stuff, it’s not feeling as overwhelming either because people have a moment to digest, versus me moving on to the next point, and they already haven’t digested the first one. And then, I get into overwhelm with people, where they’re just like, “Oh, there’s too much for me to do.” And I could see a lot of people listening whatever they teach about it being something similar.

Mike Pacchione: [00:46:15] And pausing or I like to think it’s just silence, silence equals confidence. A lot of people think silence equals death. Silence equals confidence, actually. Do you remember the statistic that I shared in there?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:46:30] About speaking?

Mike Pacchione: [00:46:31] About silence?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:46:32] No, I don’t.

Mike Pacchione: [00:46:33] Oh. What the heck? This was good.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:46:33] It’s in there somewhere. There’s a lot going on out there.

Mike Pacchione: [00:46:38] I’m just kidding. I’m just kidding. There’s a company called Gong out in San Francisco. They do AI that looks at what makes for successful sales people. They trade stock everything. They look at what makes for successful sales people versus just regular.

Mike Pacchione: [00:46:52] And one of the statistics that they share is that the best sales people, after they give a price, are willing to wait, I think, it’s 2.1 seconds in silence versus a more normal salesperson, it’s like a second or even less. Which makes sense, right? Because we’ve all done that where we’ve given a price, like, “Yeah. I can’t afford it. It’s fine.”

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:47:12] Yeah. We’ll somehow come up with a refinancing plan in the meantime to kill the silence. You’re so nervous and [inaudible].

Mike Pacchione: [00:47:20] Totally. Totally. “$1,997.” “Oh, it’s too much.” “$1,200.”

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:47:25] And they’re like, “I was going to pay that.” But it’s true, yeah.

Mike Pacchione: [00:47:29] But it makes sense. Someone who is confident and knows that they are providing value would be a good sale. And you get all of that for $1,997, one one thousand, two one thousand. What do you think about that? Or whatever that follow up production is.

Mike Pacchione: [00:47:45] Silence actually equals confidence. It’s really hard for people to pause usually. It’s really hard to be silent. I think a good activity that almost everybody can practice is print out song lyrics. Seriously, song lyrics. Print them, read them out loud in your house, you have to stop at the end of each line, one one thousand, two one thousand, go.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:48:06] I could see that being really hard. Yeah. I think that’s a really good tip. And for the sales thing, by the way, since everyone listening probably is having these conversations, literally, in the beginning when I briefly started to help coaching business. In the beginning, I would say the price and then I would cover my mouth. I physically didn’t talk. I was on the phone so no one could see me.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:48:28] And then, eventually, this turned from covering my mouth to squeezing my hand. It was like a signal to myself to be like, “Just shut up.” In Philadelphia, we’re not used to being quite for very long. So, two-and-a-half seconds is like six-and-a-half years Philadelphia time. So, I would be just trying. But, yeah, hot tip for anybody, don’t be afraid.

Mike Pacchione: [00:48:50] Oh, I love that. You know, that’s actually a great speaking tip. Obviously, from stage you cannot just —

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:48:55] Cover your mouth.

Mike Pacchione: [00:48:55] … cover your mouth. So, at places where you feel awkward, it might be the content, it might be naming our price, whatever that is for you, give yourself a pre-meditated “I am going to do this so that I don’t just sit there and blush or get red faced,” or whatever your nervous tell is.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:49:13] Yeah. Your nervous tell, that’s true. I mean, you could probably do something with your hand like pinch your fingers or something. Something really small on stage, just a little signal to yourself.

Mike Pacchione: [00:49:26] Or, I’m a fan of find someone in the audience with a friendly face, and I pre-meditate and look at that person.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:49:32] That’s cool. That’s a good idea.

Mike Pacchione: [00:49:35] It doesn’t have to be someone you know.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:49:36] Better hope they don’t turn on you mid-talk and you’re like, “Oh, no. I was betting on you. And now you look like you hate me.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:49:36] When you have people in the audience that you know, do you like that or do you not like that?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:49:48] I like that, but I think like you, I probably do grab it. I guess you always notice somebody who looks like they’re having a good time. Like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is so helpful.” You can tell, and I’ll just feel like we’re dating now and I’m just going to look at you.

Mike Pacchione: [00:50:04] Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. This is so funny. I remember teaching in my first class in graduate school, I didn’t know how I was going to do it. But there was a student – this is the thing, students don’t realize – and maybe this changes when you’re, like, 63 or something – I’m a teacher and I’m presenting to 19 year olds, it’s not like I’m fully confident naturally unless I give myself pep-talk. So, when students look like they’re not enjoying it, your teachers notices that. Anyway, there was a sophomore who seem to be enjoying my jokes my very first time I ever taught. And I was like, “Yeah, Naomi. Yeah.”

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:50:46] Yeah. You just got to lock it. You got to find your Naomi in the audience and just lock in. Now, you guys are best friends.

Mike Pacchione: [00:50:51] Yes. Totally.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:50:53] Yeah. That’s a good tip. I could see that. Actually, somebody asked a really good – well, I’ll ask you about it later. But somebody asked me a good question about rituals, but we’ll talk about that in a sec.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:51:04] I also wanted you to share, I think that there are probably a lot of people who are listening, they’re like, “This is something. I want to be in this. But how do I get there?” And I know this isn’t specifically what you help people do, but in your experience, how does somebody go from sitting on Instagram and TikTok talking on Live to starting to get on to stage and to try to grow that part of their business?

Mike Pacchione: [00:51:29] I would try to get your reps in before a big conference. Sometimes people their big speaking opportunity is a big conference. And it’s not impossible to make that lead but it’s harder.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:51:40] Yeah. So, smaller conferences like –

Mike Pacchione: [00:51:40] Or even go guest lecture at a university. I mean, I will tell you as a former adjunct who this people are going to pay probably $1,600 to try a class, they would love to have a guest speaker.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:51:40] That’s cool.

Mike Pacchione: [00:51:58] And speaking to college kids will be more challenging than adults. So, I really think, gets your reps in. Feel what it’s like to have people’s eyes on you. Feel what it’s like to have people reading your slides instead of looking at you, being on their phone. Think through, “Oh. How am I going to handle this, someone’s on their phone? How disrespectful.” Because a lot of people just get mad and let it crush them.

Mike Pacchione: [00:52:28] But go through and be a guest lecturer at a college or maybe a small account of friends or [inaudible] club type events. Like, little things, low stakes things where you can just feel what it’s like before you start presenting at their conferences.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:52:46] Yeah. That makes sense. That’s what I started doing in Philly, I started hosting workshops at a cafe that would have this entrepreneurial community. So, I hosted one and then I was like, “Can I do this again?” And I came back two weeks later and they let me host another, and it grew. And then, I started doing them twice a month for six, eight months. So, I got all these reps in but also they grew.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:53:10] And then, because people attended those, they were like, “Hey, I know this person that has this meet up. This entrepreneurs meet up, for example, in Philly. Will you come speak at it?” And I spoke at that, it was, like, 40 or 50 people. And then, that girl just so happen to start the biggest conference in Philadelphia at the time for entrepreneurs, so I spoke at that. It was, like, several hundreds of people.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:53:29] And then, I used that like B-roll to go apply to WELL Summit because there was a requirement that you had spoken to a certain number of people, and that was way bigger. And it just kept going from there. But, also, being on people’s podcast. And I was on podcasts that no one listened to in the beginning. And then, podcast a little bit more. And it just kept going and going. It’s like a lot of those reps that we’ve been talking about.

Mike Pacchione: [00:53:51] But it’s easier than ever to get those reps. And that was really smart what you did. I love that.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:53:55] I didn’t know it, but like I keep saying, if you know that this is what you want to do, I just think there has to be a lot of this scrappy “I know what the end goal. I know why I want to be on stage. But let me just try all these different things and see how this goes and get better and better at this.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:54:13] And if you are listening, there’s got to be somebody who just maybe freaked out a little because, “Oh, shoot. I’m skipping a step and now I’m speaking at this conference next month.”

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:54:24] Oh, yeah. You can do that.

Mike Pacchione: [00:54:26] You can do that. More than anything else, here’s what I would do to prep. You are probably picturing because you’re going to work really hard on this talk, and a lot of work on the slides, and the story, and delivery, and blah, blah, blah. You’re expecting everybody to have a big smile on their face from the first moment. But that’s not actually what people look like when they’re learning. I mean, that will happen from time to time but not everybody in the audience is going to look like that for the entirety of your talk.

Mike Pacchione: [00:54:54] So, one of the best things you could do would be to get a picture of someone you know, maybe it’s yourself. Tape it to a wall in front of you – sorry. Rewind. Picture of them not smiling.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:55:06] Interesting. And be used to giving the talk without relying on that feedback.

Mike Pacchione: [00:55:11] Yes.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:55:12] Yeah. The validation.

Mike Pacchione: [00:55:12] Yeah. Alternately, give it over Zoom to somebody else but have them turn off their camera.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:55:17] Oh, gosh. That would be hard. The whole time somebody doesn’t have their camera on on Zoom, I’d come up with a whole story in my head about they hate me and they’re probably miserable. It makes me so nervous to not be able to see them.

Mike Pacchione: [00:08:18] Wait. Did I tell you the story, my China story?

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:55:32] No. I don’t think so.

Mike Pacchione: [00:55:32] Oh, my gosh. Okay. I was presenting last year to a group from China, and it was a part of China where the bandwidth is terrible, so nobody is on camera. It’s China, huge time zone difference. I’m presenting at 11:00 at night, it’s a two hour workshop. My wife is asleep. My son is asleep. My dog is asleep and right next to me. Not a soul is on camera.

Mike Pacchione: [00:55:54] Culturally, at least this part of China with this company, and I was warned this, like, “You’re not going to get very much talking. People are trained to not ask questions or volunteer something that might make them look like they’re wrong.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:56:08] Nobody’s on camera.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:56:11] It makes me sick just thinking about it.

Mike Pacchione: [00:56:13] It’s time for Jimmy Fallon to be on, nobody is on camera and nobody’s talking. I had no evidence that anyone was listening to me. I was thinking to myself like, “You know, this could be a really elaborate joke.”

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:56:31] No one is even hearing it or laughing.

Mike Pacchione: [00:56:31] “Is anybody hearing this?” What occurred to me is that there are two different ways I could proceed. So, way number one is, I could be tentative because I don’t want to look stupid. Or worse, I don’t want to look like I think this matters when it might not matter to them. So, in other words, I don’t want to look like I can’t read the audience, which, hey, newsflash, I can’t because I can’t see anybody. So, that’s one way to go forward.

Mike Pacchione: [00:57:01] And I started that way. First half-hour, probably, I was that way. Two day workshop, two-and-a-half hours. First half hour, really tentative. And something clicked for me where I realized, I said, “You know, unless I’m really willing to just sign out this meeting right now, there’s no version of presenting this where I get to just leave. I have to deliver this.” So, I may as well be confident. And that totally changed the virtual game for me. I don’t care if people are on camera.

Mike Pacchione: [00:57:35] I did a workshop earlier today, and the person hosting was really, really nice and requested everybody to be on camera. There were 152 people in this department. There were maybe four who were on camera. Everyone is tired of being on camera. It’s like 2:00 in the afternoon. It didn’t affect me at all. Because I need to believe on what I’m saying and I need to just own it. And I feel like I go back to that a lot. But that’s also someone who’s been speaking for more than a decade.

Mike Pacchione: [00:58:02] So, if it’s your first opportunity, the best way to prepare for that is either camera off or a picture of someone who doesn’t look that excited to be there.

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:58:14] Yeah. I’m sure the late night comics have a lot to say about this, because during COVID, they were speaking to a camera. Whereas, they are used to getting this live constant feedback. And they were probably just like – I don’t know, I remember them just being awkward and quiet and they would just laugh at themselves.

Mike Pacchione: [00:58:34] I remember, Pete Davidson on SNL saying out loud “This is really weird.”

Sam Vander Wielen: [00:58:39] Yeah. It is weird. It’s so weird. Yeah, it was just really different for them, so I can only imagine. Interesting. Well, that’s super helpful. It’s also helpful what I also took away from what you shared was that you are actively thinking about this as your speaking so that this is a dynamic that you’re shifting as you’re speaking. It’s not just like, “Oh, shoot. I got nervous and now it’s just all down the toilet.” It was like, “I’m going to turn this around mid-speech.”

Mike Pacchione: [00:59:07] Yeah. But you also have to train yourself. I wasn’t always like that. I think one of the great things about my Duarte years, I get used to every different type of person in the audience. And, especially, this real corporate – it’s almost always a dude – guys, you can probably think of some boring company, really high up, they’ve been trained to not have a personality. I don’t mean literally there was a training, but somehow they got the message, don’t have a personality, don’t smile.

Mike Pacchione: [00:59:39] And I think at first it was Tender Mike. It was, “Okay. Well, they must know this already, blah, blah, blah.” But where it eventually got to is I flipped the switch in my brain where when I saw that guy who tried to be on his phone or tried to act like they knew this already, I knew that this stuff that I was delivering matter. I knew I was really good at delivering it. I knew my own background. So, when I saw that, it was like, “Oh. Game on, buddy. We’re going to get you paying attention.”

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:00:08] It’s a challenge. And I think because you love it, so it probably feels so natural to you, too, now. But like you said, with a lot of practice. So, I think you gave the rest of us hope, that’s for sure.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:00:19] I also want to ask you about the minivan test, because we have not talked about that.

Mike Pacchione: [01:00:22] Yes. I forgot to say that. Okay. Sam, do you have friends who have minivans?

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:00:28] Yes. I think so.

Mike Pacchione: [01:00:30] Do they try to sell you on getting a minivan?

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:00:34] Not yet. No.

Mike Pacchione: [01:00:36] It will get there. Okay. Since in your 20s, everybody makes fun of a minivan. In your 30s, people start to turn the tide. Forties, it’s like half of my friends have minivans. Everyone of them sells me on it the same exact way. There are two different words used. Do you know what those are? One of the two?

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:00:58] No.

Mike Pacchione: [01:01:00] Everybody says either it’s so practical or it’s so reasonable. I know. Of course.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:01:08] Yeah. Everyone knows that minivans are.

Mike Pacchione: [01:01:08] Everybody knows it’s reasonable.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:01:08] That’s [inaudible].

Mike Pacchione: [01:01:13] Everybody knows giant white shoes are better for your feet, too. Wear those here. The minivan test is this, when there is a well-documented argument that everybody uses, you got to deliver it in a different way. But you can think of political conversations this way, it’s just insert topic here. It’s just sold the same exact way every single time.

Mike Pacchione: [01:01:19] The power of surprising the audience with a minivan pitch that is not just it’s reasonable, it’s tremendous. So, what if instead I still probably wouldn’t buy a minivan? But what if one of my friends instead of just “It’s so reasonable,” what if it was like this, “Mike, there’s going to come a day where you have more than one child, and you have a dog, and you’re trying to carry 18 different things out to the car. And you got your son in one hand. You’ve got your dog tied around your waist. And you’re trying to let everybody in the car at the same time. And you’ve also got a basketball in there. You’re trying to find a place for the cooler. Right now, you’re driving this and there is room for those things. But every single time, you have to play a little bit of touches to get in, don’t you?”

Mike Pacchione: [01:02:25] “Yeah. I do actually.” “Well, what if you could just slide the whole door open on both sides and the kids could just get in themselves. And there is plenty of room and you could stuff things here and here and here.” Sam, that would be a much more effective pitch.

Mike Pacchione: [01:02:40] So, my point here with the minivan test when it comes to presenting, if you have a message or if you have a particular point that everybody sells the same way, try to come out with a different direction.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:02:53] I can imagine a lot of people relate to that. How do you recommend to someone that they come up with this different direction? Like, what angle should they think of it as? Like, for me, what you just described with the minivan, I’m thinking you went from describing just kind of all features of the minivan to really painting the picture of the problem that you’re running into. It’s just like classic marketing strategy. Would you recommend approaching it from that point of view?

Mike Pacchione: [01:03:22] So, if nothing else, yeah. And that will work almost every time. When I say work, I don’t mean people will buy it necessarily. But people will have that moment of like, “Oh.” And that’s a good point.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:03:29] Connects with it.

Mike Pacchione: [01:03:30] Yeah. So, that will work almost every single time. Another thing that you can do a lot, it just sounds so basic and most people don’t ever do it. When I work with people one-on-one, what I will often do is insert a topic here and I say, “Okay. So, what do people think you were going to talk about in this presentation?” Sometimes we’ll test it.

Mike Pacchione: [01:03:51] We’ll actually ask one of their friends or someone who will be a typical audience member and say, “Okay. Sam is presenting on stage. Here’s the name of her topic. What do you think she’s going to talk about? What are some things that you expect to hear in a 45 minute presentation?”

Mike Pacchione: [01:04:03] And it’s not that that rules out those things. But we at least need to consider whether we need to present that in a different way or we need to have a powerful example or we need to pull the rug out and surprise the audience. To your starting point, it’s just what are they expecting and what would be something that I could do that would surprise them. So, surprise, I think, is the key concept there.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:04:29] Yeah. I like that. I like that. That sounds really cool. I’m sure a lot of people are going to come up with ideas from that. Speaking of the people, they submitted a lot of good questions that I want to ask you.

Mike Pacchione: [01:04:40] Let’s do it.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:04:42] Lauren asked, “What is the simplest way to win over a big audience? And what’s the quickest way to lose a big audience?”

Mike Pacchione: [01:04:50] Simplest way to win over a big audience is to be either funny or at least likeable at the very beginning. So, when I work with people one-on-one, one of the things we obsess over is the very first line. The first line is usually, “Hey. It’s great to be here. How is everybody doing?” “Hey, I’m Sam. I’m from Philadelphia. Have you had a cheesesteak before?” You wouldn’t say that but certain people would. So, we obsess over it.

Mike Pacchione: [01:05:12] And listen, I’m not saying it has to be this advanced because the second line matters. So, a great first line and you don’t know what to do with it is not that helpful. My friend, Joel, I helped with a talk. And his first line was, “So, I was in Antartica.” Whoa. Whoa.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:05:31] Yeah. That gets your attention.

Mike Pacchione: [01:05:32] Yeah. That got my attention. My favorite talk that I have given or at least my favorite first line, you’re going to like this, I said, “It’s a humbling moment when you realized you’ve turned into an a-hole.” And I say a-hole because that’s more me. You’d probably curse but –

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:05:47] No. I don’t curse that much. Just every once in a while to the point where we had to label.

Mike Pacchione: [01:05:54] Explicit. You would Snoop Dogg.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:05:56] I would be honored to be in his company.

Mike Pacchione: [01:06:02] My point there is just you need to really, really focus on the beginning and doing something and it gets your audience to like you. Not that I’m funny person. I want to recommend trying to be a funny person if you’re not. Just so you know, the key to comedy is commitment. That’s what Steve Martin says. If you go out there hoping that people will laugh, oh, man, that’s a dicey proposition. Because the next 44 minutes, 50, you’re going to tough if they didn’t laugh at that first joke.

Mike Pacchione: [01:06:29] So, if those things don’t work, it’s like what is a narrative that you can begin that declares to the audience that I’ve thought about you. That might be as simple as here is my topic, what is something that, if I were to remove your pain point – and you should actually say what the pain point is – you would now be able to do. And if you can do that in the first minute of your talk, that’s a pretty good start. If you can declare to the audience I’ve thought about you and I’m trying to help you, that’s a pretty good start.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:07:06] That’s really cool. And what do you think is the fastest way to lose the audience?

Mike Pacchione: [01:07:13] Talk about yourself. Talking about the resume. This is a good metaphor to think of, I had a college friend who been married. Through a strange sequence of events, he got married on the property of a really famous celebrity. Like, every single person that’s in existence knows who this guy is. Out of courtesy, him and his wife invite the guy, but they don’t think he’s going to show. Well, I wouldn’t tell you the story if he didn’t show. Forty-five minutes in, the guy shows up.

Mike Pacchione: [01:07:44] I wasn’t at this wedding. My friend was. He said, “It was the strangest thing. Name of celebrity shows up. Nobody said a word. In fact, the whole room went silent. And it was like the oceans parted and he has walked to the front of the room. And we just all expected him to give a speech and he did. And he started talking about how beautiful the furniture was. And do you how old this wine is? And have you taken a tour of the property? Did you see this? Did you see this? Did you see this?”

Mike Pacchione: [01:08:14] Now, this guy ends his talk after ten minutes. You would think somewhere in there he would talk about – I don’t know – congratulations husband and wife. Nope. Entirely about himself. People don’t go to that level at a beginning of a talk necessarily, but a lot of people start with their resume.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:08:31] Yeah. They think they have to establish credibility.

Mike Pacchione: [01:08:36] So, I’ve been doing this for this many years. And I’ve worked with this client. And this guy is really impressive. And this, and this, and this. I get the instinct for that. But there’s a much smarter way of doing it, which is to tell a story. And when I say story, I mean an act or example. Or, “I was working with insert impressive company here or insert impressive person here,” and tell the rest of that story. And that way, you get two for one. And now that story needs to be about the audience. But if you do that, then you’re making yourself likeable by telling about something the audience can relate to, and you’ve just declared authority. And that’s a much better way to go.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:09:10] That’s really cool. Okay. That’s helpful. Somebody asked, “How do I not bore people? What captivates better, lots of details or a quick straightforward story?”

Mike Pacchione: [01:09:26] I assume those are about two different stories, right?

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:09:30] Yeah. I mean, they’re saying what captivates better, like a story that has a lot of details or a story that’s really straightforward.

Mike Pacchione: [01:09:35] You should do one detail. I mean, the worst storytellers are – no. Not the worst. Picture a bad storyteller in your life. You don’t have to say who it is.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:09:45] They go off on tangents.

Mike Pacchione: [01:09:48] So, what’s the tangent sound like?

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:09:50] Just all over the place.

Mike Pacchione: [01:09:53] Probably what’s happening to that person is they’re remembering details from that story as they were telling it. So, they’re saying, “I was going down the school one day and I remember that I had eliminated my cup holder and I heard a hawk go overhead.” And as the person listening, you’re thinking to yourself, “Okay. Lemonade, that’s going to matter later. That’s going to matter later.” It doesn’t matter later, right? It never does.

Mike Pacchione: [01:10:17] So, a little bit of detail is great. It’s great to hear the thoughts that went through your head. It’s great to hear one detail about the room that you’re in. It’s great to hear one detail about the person you’re talking to. So, one detail tends to be good, maybe two details. But when you start talking about lemonade and [inaudible] socks, and why did this [inaudible] cut me off, those things don’t matter.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:10:41] Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That’s helpful. My dad, by the way, was the king of giving directions. He’d be like, “Sam, do you see the Wawa? The Wawa is coming up on your right? Do you see it? Do you see it?” I’m like, “Yeah, dad. I see it. I see the Wawa.” “Okay. That’s on it. Keep going.” I’m like, “Well, why did I focus on the Wawa?” Now, I’m more disoriented and I got over in the other lane. I was like, “How was the Wawa relevant to the story?” That’s always what he did.

Mike Pacchione: [01:11:06] My mom, I remember the first time she gave me directions to drive down a store, it was the same thing. Like, a whole legal path. And it was like, “You will see blah, blah, blah. Do not turn.”

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:11:13] It’s like, “Why do I need to know that? Just tell me where to turn.” It’s so true. It’s really funny he always did that. We get so laser focused on this Wawa and end up being nothing.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:11:25] Natasha asked – this is a good one – for tips for combating nerves or is that part of what makes showing up so rewarding.

Mike Pacchione: [01:11:37] Unless it is a talk that you give a ton, then your nerves will go away because you’ve already proven to yourself, “I can deliver this.” But if it’s a talk you’re giving the first time, second time, third time, and you have nerves, that’s not a bad thing. Think about times in your life when you’ve been nervous, sporting events.

Mike Pacchione: [01:11:58] I was nervous when I proposed. Did I think my wife will say no? I mean, it wasn’t like shooting a tree if we found a 25 percent chance. We talked about it. So, my point is just, nerves communicate something at stake that’s good. That’s what propels you to a greater performance.

Mike Pacchione: [01:12:21] That’s it. I get the question. What you need to do is to rehearse enough that you know it. If it is your first time and, typically, you’re nervous, you need to rehearse enough inside and out. And then, you need to give yourself – this is going to seem contradictor – freedom to not say it the same way that you just rehearsed. So, the rehearsing is just to get it in your brain. The audience has no idea what you’re supposed to say. They have no idea what your script sound like.

Mike Pacchione: [01:12:51] So, once it’s in your head, you’re not going to forget it at that point. It’s in your head, and now you know it well. Now, you’re on stage. And once you’re on stage, you can run with it and take it to a different direction.

Mike Pacchione: [01:13:03] Here’s an excerpt if it’s helpful – what was the movie called? – Taxi Driver. Jodie Foster was all excited to be in that movie because De Niro was a legend for his ability to imprompt. She’s super excited. She’s like, “Oh, my gosh. I’m going to hear all about this.” She shows up the first day and De Niro just schools her because he knew the script inside and out day one. It was because he knew it inside and out from day one that allowed him to do all this adlibing.

Mike Pacchione: [01:13:32] You don’t need to know a speech that well, especially someone who’s presenting a lot. But if your first learning it, it would be good to get it in your head in such a way where you’re not having to consciously remember the next line while you’re looking at all this people in the audience.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:13:48] Yeah. This is like how I learn recipes. I nailed recipes so then I know how I can deviate. But if I don’t learn the foundation of the recipe first, I don’t even know where I can take a detour. I feel like that’s kind of similar.

Mike Pacchione: [01:13:59] That’s so good. That’s perfect comparison. Sam, when you present, when you’re talking to your audience, what is literally going through your head? What is the picture in your head? Are you thinking line to line? Are you thinking —

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:14:14] No. I’m one of those not rehearse people that loves to wing it.

Mike Pacchione: [01:14:16] Oh, come on. But you don’t wing it, wing it.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:14:21] No. I have, like, a structure of what I know I’m going to teach. But I think especially because of what I teach about, you know, if I’m talking about a contract, what makes the contract, or what makes website policy, it’s always the same. So, it doesn’t really change. The stories can kind of weave through out. But I’ve given a lot more of a those kinds of talks.

Mike Pacchione: [01:14:40] That makes sense. I think a smart thing that you’ve alluded to – I don’t know if you alluded on this – is having a bunch of stories in your back pocket that you can pull out at any moment as examples. And, actually, you know what? Let’s have that – Natasha, I think, the one who asked the question?

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:15:00] Yes, she did.

Mike Pacchione: [01:15:00] One of the things you can do is to get to something, like, when you’re ready to talk, start with something that feels really comfortable to you, because that will give the same [inaudible]. A lot of times that’s a story.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:15:13] Yeah. So, a story that you feel comfortable telling or that the story itself kind of puts you at ease?

Mike Pacchione: [01:15:20] Well, probably both. But certainly the first part that you feel comfortable telling. Something that you feel confident will just shake you out of the little funk that only happens when you are overthinking how important the talk is.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:15:20] Okay. That’s super helpful. All right. And I think Natasha’s last question is a good one to end on because I can imagine you have some good tips for this for clients that you worked with, “What are you pre and post speaking rituals or ones that you recommend to people?”

Mike Pacchione: [01:15:57] When I work one-on-one with people, I always give people a pep talk the night before to clear to them some of the things we talked about, why you’re the right person to give this talk.

Mike Pacchione: [01:16:10] I know you’re a football fan, but just the Eagles, or do you know –

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:16:13] Packers too. I know more broadly.

Mike Pacchione: [01:16:14] Wait. You know the Packers too?

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:16:15] Yeah. Because Ryan is from Wisconsin.

Mike Pacchione: [01:16:17] Oh, my God. Okay. So, I work with this guy, Brandon Bostick. Is that name familiar?

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:16:23] Yeah.

Mike Pacchione: [01:16:24] You know who that is?

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:16:25] Yeah. No. I’ve heard of him.

Mike Pacchione: [01:16:26] Okay. So, Brandon is an amazing human who had a bad play. And because of that bad play, he got a lot of hate mail and all these things and stopped loving football. But he’s doing great things now. And he’s talk is about coming out of that. He was presenting at a conference. He had never spoken at a conference before. And he had this little like, “Ah, yeah. but -“

Mike Pacchione: [01:16:54] So, I still did this pep talk thing. Like, this guy played in NFC Championship, 60,000 people at crazy – or whatever the Seahawks Stadium is called, the 12th Man, and all this. I’m like, “Does he really need this pep talk?” I decided I should give it to him. And he talked about it. I mean, he said the night before, “This feels like tomorrow is game day.” The guy did played in the NFL, been in the NFC Championship game, and he told me that he got a lot nervous there.

Mike Pacchione: [01:17:30] So, all of this to say, if you don’t have Mike coaching you, you need to come up with your own reason why this talk is going to go well, why you’re the right person to give this talk. I find myself actually repeating those things backstage. I’m also listening to music. I listen to pump up music. I mean, I rehearse the night before. I rehearse with pump up music on. When I say pump up music, I mean like the same stuff I would use on a run. Because that gets my heart rate up and it gets me excited. Like, you should be excited when you go on stage.

Mike Pacchione: [01:18:03] I’d never watch the person before me speak [inaudible]. But I’m backstage. There had been times that’s in the hall, like, Wonder Woman posting backstage. Nobody else is back there. Do whatever you want. But mostly I am focusing on why this is going to go well.

Mike Pacchione: [01:18:20] Because the talk will go well. I mean, obviously, if you’ve worked with me, it will go well. Sometimes speeches don’t go well. They rarely go as poorly as you think they do. It’s understandable if they don’t go as well as you wanted them to. But you should still take time to write down the things that you felt were best, whether that’s an individual line, whether it’s a whole story, a particular slide.

Mike Pacchione: [01:18:48] The thing where you felt like you were in flow, that’s what you should really focus on after the talk. Sometimes you’re lucky enough the whole talk was in flow. Sometimes it might only been 30 seconds. But that’s what the focus on and why that happened, so that next time you deliver, we’ve got a place to start from.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:19:04] Yeah. It’s like muscle memory. That’s awesome. That’s really helpful. Well, this has been so much fun. I can talk to you all day. But I also think it will be helpful for you to tell everybody how they can find you, contact you, where they can learn more from you, and work with you, obviously.

Mike Pacchione: [01:19:21] Yeah. Totally. So, one site is bestspeech.co. There, you can sign up for free resource that I think is super helpful, where we will send you a series of emails that are the Seven Traits of a Best Speaker at Every Conference. Basically, it’s the stuff that you need to know to be the person that everybody remembers.

Mike Pacchione: [01:19:49] A podcast that I love, the Best Speech podcast, almost always interviews. One of the things that’s kind of cool that we do from time to time is we’ll play someone’s TED Talk and then we’ll interview them. It’s cool. “What you were thinking at this part? Why did you do it this way? Is there anything you wish you had done differently?” So, I love being able to do that.

Mike Pacchione: [01:19:57] I love working with people one-on-one. The other thing that I love that we’ll start recruiting again in October is what I call Speech Club. So, that is for people who want to up level their speaking. And the promise at the end of that is you will have a battle tested talk that you’ve received feedback on already, you’ve got the stories ironed out or at least you know what to iron out, so that you can go on stage knowing already that it’s good. That would be the best feeling instead of going out there and you’re like, “Well, I hope they laugh.” You already know they’ll laugh. I read it by people already.

Mike Pacchione: [01:20:31] So, these are all things that I love. Obviously, I love doing all this. And I have loved talking to you, Sam, my old friend. I feel like we’re friends from third grade or something.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:20:40] I know. You’re the best. I’m just so glad that you did this. I think people are going to get so much out of it. And it’s cool that when this episode comes out then your group program will be starting soon. So, guys, reach out to Mike if you want to learn. But I’m also going to mention people are going to learn a lot from listening to your podcast, just hearing that in real time is going to be really helpful.

Mike Pacchione: [01:21:01] Yeah. It’s super cool. I love doing this.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:21:03] Thank you so much for doing this.

Mike Pacchione: [01:21:03] Sam, thanks for having me. You’re the best.

Sam Vander Wielen: [01:21:10] Thanks so much for listening to the On Your Terms podcast. Make sure to follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. You can also check out all of our podcast episodes, show notes, links, and more at samvanderwielen.com/podcast.

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Creativity ★ Inspiration ★ Strategy ★ Tools & Tactics

Delivering a speech that matters – 6 lessons from a tedx veteran.

Imagine yourself backstage at a theatre.

The Production Assistant has just finished clipping on your microphone, and the Stage Manager has given you the one-minute warning. Beyond the curtain, you hear the muffled sounds of the audience taking their seats. Pacing back and forth, you review your opening line over and over in your head. But this rehearsal doesn’t last long. Before you know it, the house lights dim, the stage lights go bright, and you’re given the cue. You walk out, face the crowd, and begin your speech…

Now, does this sound like a dream or a nightmare?

For most, it’s the latter. Public speaking consistently ranks as the number one fear in adults. 

This wasn’t always the case. While the digital world has given us a toolbox full of mass communication tools (email, texts, tweets, blogs, slacks, etc.), there was a time not so long ago where communicating your ideas meant getting up in front of a group and delivering a speech.

In fact, for the vast majority of humans’ time on earth (think 99.9%), verbal speech was the only means of communication. Written language arrived very late in our development, and even after the invention of the printing press in 1440, most of society had no idea how to read, meaning they still relied on the power of speech and story to gather and share information.

Think back to your history class. Cavemen telling stories around the fire. Native American elders sharing folklore with the tribe. Town hall meetings. Soapbox speeches. Throughout time, the most important ideas have always been shared through public speech.

So, why are so many of us suddenly scared to wield this power?

In this modern age, we’ve quickly swapped the public forums for the convenience of digital communication. And while this certainly has had its benefits, it’s also had the unfortunate consequence of turning public speaking from a tool humans had to use, to one that’s used by a select few, and avoided at all costs by the majority of others.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. As someone that speaks on stage for a living, and who has delivered multiple TEDx talks around the world, I know first-hand just how powerful a speech can be. In fact, with so few willing to stand up and share their ideas publicly, speeches have once again become one of the most powerful ways to share ideas.

Have an idea worth sharing yourself? Here are six of the most important lessons I’ve learned throughout my years as a public speaker.

Speak from YOUR Heart

Have you ever wondered why some speakers leave you on the edge of your seat, while others have you reaching for your cell phone as a distraction from the boredom? It can be the same event, same stage, and even the same topic, yet some speakers just seem to have “it,” while others do not.

As an experienced speaker, I can tell you firsthand that “it” is nothing more than a person choosing to speak from the heart.

Watching a speech delivered from the heart is like watching magic. There’s passion. There’s warmth. There’s humor. Speaking from YOUR heart pulls the audience in and leaves them hanging on every word. It creates a sense of community and feels as if everyone in the room has gathered around a campfire to hear a story. Because in a sense, they have!

When you watch someone speak from THEIR heart, years of evolution come into effect. Your eyes widen, your pulse rises, and your senses elevate. Your body feels like it’s being told something important, that the information being shared on stage is important to you, and that you need to do everything in your power to retain it. It takes us all back to the caveman campfire stories that used to be of vital importance to our survival.

Sounds like the kind of speech you’d like to give, right?

So, how can you ensure your speech is delivered from the heart? 

First off, make sure you pick the right topic (more on that in #2 and #3). Once you’ve settled on an idea worth sharing, focus on engaging with the audience. Ask questions. Look them in the eye (and if you’re on a TED stage, forget about the cameras). Let them guess the results of that study before you share the next slide. Bring someone on stage. Get the audience involved.

The point of public speaking is not to tell people something; it’s to share something with them. And the best way to share is from the heart.

Focus on One Idea Worth Sharing, Not Many

One of the most critical things you can do to deliver an impactful speech is to focus on a single idea.

My time at TEDx has made this point especially clear. When someone is given the opportunity to talk about a passion of theirs on a prominent stage, the natural inclination is to cram in as much information as they possibly can during their speech. You never know when you’ll have this opportunity to share your knowledge again, so best to share as much as you can, right?

If you try to share 100 small bits of information, your audience will walk away tired, confused, and not very inspired. Instead, focus all your energy on sharing a single idea or story, and tell it really well.

Make Sure It’s the Right Idea

Once you learn it’s best to focus on a single idea for your speech, it becomes even more important that you choose the right idea . Thankfully, there are several practical things you can do to test your idea before delivering a big speech. In fact, Chris Anderson, the Head of TED, advises all his speakers to utilize a practice called Creating a Through line .

A through line is the DNA of your speech, the core upon which it grows. Great public speakers know that they should be able to create a through line for their speech that is 15 words or less. If it’s any longer, the idea is either not fleshed out enough, or they are trying to share too much (see #2 above).

Once you’ve distilled your through line down to 15 words, you can take your testing one step further by running it through TED’s through line checklist:

• Is this a topic I’m passionate about?
• Does it inspire curiosity?
• Will it make a difference to the audience to have this knowledge?
• Is the information fresh or is it already out there?
• Can I complete it in the time allotted?
• Do I know enough about the topic to make it worth the audience’s time?
• Do I have the credibility to take the audience’s time?

If your 15-word through line checks all these boxes, then you know you have an idea that’s ready to be shared.

Embrace Your Butterflies

“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death…This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” Jerry Seinfeld

Though it’s ingrained in our DNA, fear tends to be the first emotion that comes to mind when people think about public speaking. The sweaty palms. The knocking knees. The thirst you just can’t quench. For most, the idea of walking out onto a stage to deliver a speech is utterly terrifying.

That is why it comes as no surprise that one of the most common questions I get asked about public speaking is “how can I make the nerves and butterflies go away?”

Ready for the secret?

Ask any professional public speaker and they’ll all say the same thing: stop trying to eliminate your nerves. It just can’t be done.

Instead, you need to embrace your butterflies. Accept the fear and put it to work for you. When used correctly, fear can be one of the most positive motivators and tools you have to deliver a compelling speech. Because when we experience fear, our body’s natural response is to produce adrenaline – that jolt of superhuman energy preparing us for fight or flight.

For many about to deliver a speech, signs of adrenaline are seen as signs that they are nervous . But it doesn’t have to be this way. Instead, rewire how you think about adrenaline. Those sweaty palms? That doesn’t mean you’re nervous…it means you’re ready . That your body is gearing up to go out and deliver the speech of a lifetime.

Accept and reframe your fear, and you’ll be amazed at how motivating it can become.

Give Generously

One of the most surefire ways to deliver a compelling speech is to focus on a single goal:

The best speeches and speakers give generously to their audiences. They don’t take to the stage to pitch a project or to give an ask. They take to the stage to share an idea, to open up minds, to entertain and to inspire, to connect with the individuals in the room.

Unfortunately, many inexperienced speakers view their time on the mic as nothing more than a chance to pitch themselves, their projects, and their businesses. But this approach couldn’t be more wrong.

Even in scenarios where you’re expected to be delivering a pitch, it’s always best to ask yourself: “What can I give to this audience?”

Let me give you an example.

In 2010, while working as the Head of Innovation and Creativity for Disney Parks, I worked on a major project to reinvent Downtown Disney. And one of our first tasks was finding the right architecture firm.

We had called in four firms to give their pitch to win the business. These were major league firms with major league pitch budgets, and the first three came in with exactly what we had expected: large architectural renderings and models, fancy pitch decks, fancy suits, and enough people to fill the entire conference room.

The first three pitches were all very impressive, yet none had quite “wowed” our team. The ideas were sound, but for some reason their pitches just hadn’t resonated with us. Then, the fourth firm entered to give their pitch. However, instead of a team of fancy architects in fancy suits, it was a single representative for the firm, kind, seasoned pro with a warm smile and a relaxed demeanor.

Instead of starting his pitch by walking us through a fancy model, the gentleman proceeded to take our chairs and arrange them in a circle (remember those cavemen campfires?). After we took our seats, the man began to tell us a story about an ambitious animator named Walt, and the place where he first met the girl who would become his future wife, Lilian. He asked us to close our eyes and painted a picture of a place called Disney Springs.

Our entire team was completely captivated .

This fourth architect didn’t deliver a pitch; he gave to all of us in the room. He gave us a story. A vision. A history lesson that reminded all of us why we were so proud to work for Disney.

And after he gave all this, that gentleman gave us his vision for how he would make Walt proud. Needless to say, the entire Disney team was officially “wowed”.

Guess who won the business?

No matter the context, always frame your speech around how you can give to your audience.

Diversify Your Delivery

If there is one thing that can take a speech from good to great, it’s the ability to diversify your delivery. While we tend to think of speeches as an auditory experience, you must remember that you are the speaker up on stage, and that your audience is expecting a performance. Even the most well prepared and written speeches can fall flat if delivered by a stationary, monotone speaker.

Thankfully, there are a lot of ways to easily bring some diversity to your speech, and I recommend you craft a speech that incorporates all three types of learning styles: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Here are some of my favorites:

Use Your Voice (Auditory Learners)

Whether you know it or not, your voice is capable of creating a wide range of sounds. Use this powerful tool in your speech! Telling an emotional anecdote? Slow down pace and bring your tone down low. Sharing some exciting news? Pick things up and get loud. Just as the story you tell should have peaks and valleys, so should your tone of voice as you deliver.

Move (Kinesthetic Learners)

One of my favorite things to do as a speaker is move. While some environments are more restrictive than others, try and push the boundaries within whatever confines you have. Engage the audience by bringing someone up on stage or moving to either side of the stage. Move back towards the screen to point out an important fact or figure. Or – if possible – meet the audience where they live and leave the stage all together!

Use Compelling Visuals (Visual Learners)

Whether it’s a photo, short video, or series of graphs, visual cues can serve as a great way to enhance your points during a speech. But be VERY careful and selective here. One of the biggest mistakes an inexperienced public speaker can make is turning their speech into nothing more than a recitation of PowerPoint slide after PowerPoint slide. This will immediately cause the audience to lose interest. Instead, ensure each visual cue you use has a specific purpose, and is there to enhance , not serve in place of, your speech.

Getting Started

While you may never plan to grace the TED stage, developing the ability to deliver a powerful public speech is a skill that can pay dividends for years. Humans will always be programmed to love a well-told story. So, if you have an idea worth sharing, it’s best you learn how to share it well.

These six tips should help get you started. However, the best way to improve is to get out there and start speaking. Whether it’s volunteering to deliver a speech at work, offering to give a toast at an upcoming event, or joining a local ToastMasters or similar public speaking club, the sooner you get up on that stage, the sooner you’ll have the audience on the edge of their seats.

Curious to see how I put these tips into action? Then be sure to check out one of my most recent TEDx speeches .

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