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| Learn to Thrive on the Spotlight |
I can't lie to you.
Just like you, I also get butterflies when I’m ready to get in front of a
group. I've done thousands of television shows or segments... but when the red light goes on or the stage becomes your own... you still have nervous energy. And to succeed... you have to thrive on it.
It’s normal. No
different than a golfer standing over a five footer for the win, or a batter in
the 9th with 2 strikes, 2 outs and 2 on as his team trails by
1. Nervous energy is reality. It happens for all of us… dating back to the
days you walked down the hallway with an exam about to take place in the
classroom to your left.
I’ll never forget this piece of advice with regard to
speaking in front of an audience.
The Butterflies are
real and won’t go away. Just make them
fly in unison.
A great tip for me to this day and I’ll pass it on to as
many groups as show up in front of me.
This week presents the challenge of 3 speaking engagements –
each one different, and some much larger than others. One down, two to go.
To me… the nervous energy comes well before the day of the
speech. I think about the audience, the
delivery and the intended outcome long before I show up or stand up. Getting things in order is the biggest
challenge…. and keeping things simple is a challenge as well.
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| Energy Helps Me Calm Nerves |
For example, I use speaking cards for most of my talks. A few lines, a few quotes or points of
emphasis….. scribed in an order that makes sense. But like you I’m sure, I tend to go on
longer than I’d like about certain topics.
It’s unavoidable.
So what do I do? I’m
working to keep the bullet points shorter and the cards less in number. This will happen for you as well… provided
you do enough talks.
So what do the people in front of you want? Here’s my list of 5 things…
Energy –
to me, this is Number 1 and it’s not debatable.
A boring speaker is a waste of time.
We live in a fast-paced world where time is precious. Every hour counts… and spending time
listening to someone who has no passion for their subject matter is tough to
justify.
Preparedness
– does the speaker know his stuff? Or
does he ramble because he hasn’t given himself a direction – let alone the
audience. Never “wing it”…. learn to
"work it." And time in thought about the
topic and the impact you are trying to make is worth every minute.
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| Podium is an Opportunity |
Authenticity
– how is your talk different from their talk… or theirs… or theirs. How much energy do you put behind your
message? Do you have relevant examples
that make your content more valuable than the next speaker in line? Ask yourself… “How am I better or different
from my competition?” Then jump on creating
that as soon as possible.
Transparency
– why is reality TV so popular?
Simple. People want to see people
for who they are… or what they are.
People want to feel like they actually know you. Give them a few
reasons to feel connected. They’ll talk
about you and your speech a whole lot more after them leave.
A Message – in communication, a message isn’t just something, or one of many things… it’s the only thing. Take it seriously. What do you want people to remember? What is it you stand for? Can people remember it? Like a politician who has a platform… have your own. And don’t forget to drive it home.
People are forced to sit in front of speakers. Others will pay to sit in front of
speakers. No matter how they end up
there… they want you to succeed. Always
remember that…. and give them something really worth talking about!
Follow Kraig on
Twitter: @KraigKann
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