Become an Expert at Speaking

By Sandra Schrift

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Become an Expert at Speaking

Does anybody really have anything new to say? There is no
end to the number of people who enjoy bringing their
expertise to the platform. There will always be an
audience who will want to hear your good ideas communicated
uncommonly well in an uncommon way. Your challenge as a
speaker is to figure out how to do that.

Here are some starter tips on how to become an expert at
speaking:

1. Study the best. Choose a topic that you love to speak
on and that others need to hear about. Then listen to
those who are either most successful in that area, most
gifted, or both. Some speakers who get paid very well for
their information may not necessarily have outstanding
delivery styles. Content is always king, but all speakers
should deliver their talk with eloquence. I tell my
professional speaker clients that they will be hired for
their content, but paid for their delivery!

2. Listen to tapes, videos, DVD’s – and attend lectures
when possible. Expose yourself to as many speakers and
styles as you can. You can learn from everyone, the good
and the bad. Listen with an ear that helps you to know
what you like best about the speaker’s presentation and what
you like least. How can you use this to make you better at
the platform.

3. Practice for Free. Don’t charge for your first speech.
There are many service and business networking clubs looking
for speakers every week. Check the clubs in your area
(ex: Rotary, Lions, Leads, Chamber of Commerce, church
groups) and contact the program chairs to speak to their
groups. Speaking often is critical to your development as a
sought after speaker. I encourage my clients to speak for
free often as they are building their speaking careers. The
audience will tell you what your best material is and this
will help you hone your skills so that you can eventually be
a paid speaker with groups that have budgets.

4. Get feedback. Interview clients and friends who can
provide you with input about the value of your topic(s) as
well as your content and delivery style. After you speak to
a group, verbally get some feedback from a few attendees.
You can do this with a phone call or email. Better yet,
provide your audience with an evaluation form. I always
encourage my clients to do this and include a line that says:
“Do you know of any other groups who would benefit from this
program?” “If so, may I call you to get that information?”
Be sure to include a line that requires their name and phone
number.

5. Get good, and then get better. Even the best, at the top
of their game, keep working at doing it better, doing it
differently, keeping their material current and interesting.
There is always room for improvement. Don’t rest on your
commercial success alone. Always be present for
“breakthroughs.” You never know when the next one is around
the corner. How do you get better? Hire a speaker coach,
like me ,and get out there and speak, speak, speak!

Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Get
more clients and consistent monthly income? Judy Cullins,
book coach, and Sandra Schrift, speaker coach, invite you
to join a "Business Marketing Achievers" small group
coaching beginning May 25th. We are looking for 12
committed people who are ready to use speaking and writing
to catapult their business. For more details, contact
Sandra at 1-800-340-3683 between 9-6pm pst. Hurry! This
group will fill quickly. For details and to
register go to: http://www.schrift.com/group_coaching.htm

COPYRIGHT: ©2005 by Sandra Schrift. All rights reserved

About the author:
Sandra Schrift 13 year speaker bureau owner and now career
coach to emerging and veteran public speakers who want to
"grow" a profitable speaking business. I also work with
business professionals and organizations who want to
master their presentations.
Get more speaking skills at our "Summer Sizzle" webpage:
http://www.schrift.com/summer_sizzle.htm
Join my free bi-weekly Monday Morning Mindfulness ezine
http://www.schrift.com/monday.htm


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