Ten Steps to Giving a Great Speech

By Dennis McCafferty

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Take a Breath and Relax

Your heart may be racing and your palms sweating, but remember that your audience wants you to succeed.
Keep It at a High Level

Don't go into every detail. Stick to the big picture and direct the audience to resources that will flesh out the information.
Start With 'Why,' Not 'What'

People respond better to being told why things need to be done, rather than being told what to do.
Align With the Audience

Discussing common ground is a great way to demonstrate that you face the same challenges.
Invite the Audience In

Engage the audience by asking them to take part in the conversation, so they own a piece of it.
Tell Stories, Not Stats

When asked to recall a speech, 63% of audiences recall stories. Only 5% remember statistics.
Easy on the PowerPoint

Slides are more of a crutch than a way to connect. Use them sparingly and don't read each word.
Use Images to Support Your Points

The more you can make your audience "see" your speech, the more of it they'll retain.
Use Creative Pauses

Well-timed silence can lend dramatic emphasis to a key point.
End With a Call to Action

Effective presentations close by making the required outcomes abundantly to the audience.
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Do you suffer from glossophobia? It's very likely that you do. But don't get too worked up about it—it's not a fatal disease. It's just the clinical term for a fear of public speaking, and three out of every four people have it, according to the National Institutes of Public Health. That said, if you want to advance in your career, you need to confront this anxiety head-on because few achievers can manage to avoid giving any public presentations. To provide you with some helpful guidance, we've come up with the following time-proven tips on giving a "knock 'em dead" speech. They're essentially the same guidelines practiced by famous CEOs, as well as newsmakers and celebrity speakers who command five- or six-figure fees for a single event. The tips were compiled from a number of online resources, including Speaking-Tips.com and Eric Barker's "Barking up the Wrong Tree" blog. Barker is a contributor to Wired and "Barking" is listed on the blogrolls (lists of recommended blogs) at the The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

This article was originally published on 2013-09-11

Dennis McCafferty is a freelance writer for Baseline Magazine.

Ten Steps to Giving a Great Speech

Take a Breath and Relax

Keep It at a High Level

Start With 'Why,' Not 'What'

Align With the Audience

Invite the Audience In

Tell Stories, Not Stats

Easy on the PowerPoint

Use Images to Support Your Points

Use Creative Pauses

End With a Call to Action