Corporate speaker expert Phil Schibeci’s top tips on motivating the masses.
To give you a focus for business strategy, we’ve decided to follow a variation on a theme each week and this week is all about motivation in its different forms.
Have a read of corporate speaker expert Phil Schibeci’s top tips on motivating the masses.
Speak with passion
To give an inspiring, motivating presentation you need to speak on a topic you are passionate about or at least have an interest in. Public speaking is not the time to be cool or reserved so don’t be afraid to show your passion. Don’t hold anything back and just say it as it is for you. If you can’t be passionate about your topic, how can you expect the audience to have any interest in it? If you mean what you say you will enjoy presenting it. If you enjoy it so will the audience.
Don’t fall into the trap of just presenting the information as cold hard facts; instead speak from your own experience and learn to weave relevant stories and anecdotes into your presentations. Everyone loves a good story because they evoke emotions. A good way to become a great story teller is to develop some personal stories where you or someone else triumphed in a challenging situation. Practise by telling these stories to family and friends whenever the opportunity arises.
Use the power of the pause
Although you need to be excited to inspire and motivate your audience, you also need to take a breath to pause throughout your presentation. Mark Twain said, “The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”
Pausing is something that most people do not use very well when they are making a speech or presentation. Moments of silence when speaking are very powerful especially, as Mark Twain said, if they are used at the right time.
A great time to use a pause is just before, or just after you make a bold or important statement.
This either prepares the audience for what’s coming or it gives them time to absorb and process what you have just said. Pausing also gives the speaker a chance to think about what they are going to say next or to check their notes.
There are many benefits of effective pausing when speaking to groups of people or even one to one, so this certainly is a skill worth developing and using.
It’s the gaps between our words that often have the greatest impact, so don’t forget the power of the pause.
Harness the power of your nerves
When people ask me how they can get rid of the nerves before a presentation, I tell them if they don’t feel nervous before a presentation to check their pulse because something is terribly wrong.
In 21 years of presenting to audiences of all sizes, I’ve always felt varying degrees of anxiety or nervousness beforehand. The feelings that everyone experience before speaking to a group of people is actually positive energy. This is the type of energy you need as a speaker to inspire and motivate your audience. Instead of seeing these feelings as a liability use them to your advantage. Don’t try to suppress or worry about what you are experiencing as it’s normal and healthy to feel this way. Get used to this heightened state as much as you can because it won’t hurt you; in fact if you don’t feel like this beforehand you may come across as flat and lifeless. It’s just the little voice in your head telling you that you are about to do something that requires lots of energy and focus.
The feeling I get prior to speaking to an audience is similar to when I’m waiting to get on a fast rollercoaster ride at an amusement park. I’m scared and excited all at the same time. If I let go and enjoy the adrenaline rush as soon as I start speaking it’s a wild, fun ride. If I worry about it I get very tense and it’s not enjoyable. Instead of fighting or trying to suppress these feelings, learn to harness this energy by accepting it. If you are able to do this you will enjoy public speaking because the audience will respond to your enthusiasm and excitement.
All good speakers don’t try to be anything or anyone but themselves. Using the ideas presented here will help you be an authentic speaker that can inspire and motivate any audience.
Phil Schibeci is a renowned corporate speaker and workshop facilitator, helping professionals to achieve the goals of their business. He is the co-author of Self Made: Real Australian Business Stories and How to get out of the RUT Race.
If you have any themes for business strategy that you would like to see more of, please mention them in the comments section below.
Related articles:
How to motivate your staff in tough times
Making small presentations work
Have a read of corporate speaker expert Phil Schibeci’s top tips on motivating the masses.
Speak with passion
To give an inspiring, motivating presentation you need to speak on a topic you are passionate about or at least have an interest in. Public speaking is not the time to be cool or reserved so don’t be afraid to show your passion. Don’t hold anything back and just say it as it is for you. If you can’t be passionate about your topic, how can you expect the audience to have any interest in it? If you mean what you say you will enjoy presenting it. If you enjoy it so will the audience.
Don’t fall into the trap of just presenting the information as cold hard facts; instead speak from your own experience and learn to weave relevant stories and anecdotes into your presentations. Everyone loves a good story because they evoke emotions. A good way to become a great story teller is to develop some personal stories where you or someone else triumphed in a challenging situation. Practise by telling these stories to family and friends whenever the opportunity arises.
Use the power of the pause
Although you need to be excited to inspire and motivate your audience, you also need to take a breath to pause throughout your presentation. Mark Twain said, “The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”
Pausing is something that most people do not use very well when they are making a speech or presentation. Moments of silence when speaking are very powerful especially, as Mark Twain said, if they are used at the right time.
A great time to use a pause is just before, or just after you make a bold or important statement.
This either prepares the audience for what’s coming or it gives them time to absorb and process what you have just said. Pausing also gives the speaker a chance to think about what they are going to say next or to check their notes.
There are many benefits of effective pausing when speaking to groups of people or even one to one, so this certainly is a skill worth developing and using.
It’s the gaps between our words that often have the greatest impact, so don’t forget the power of the pause.
Harness the power of your nerves
When people ask me how they can get rid of the nerves before a presentation, I tell them if they don’t feel nervous before a presentation to check their pulse because something is terribly wrong.
In 21 years of presenting to audiences of all sizes, I’ve always felt varying degrees of anxiety or nervousness beforehand. The feelings that everyone experience before speaking to a group of people is actually positive energy. This is the type of energy you need as a speaker to inspire and motivate your audience. Instead of seeing these feelings as a liability use them to your advantage. Don’t try to suppress or worry about what you are experiencing as it’s normal and healthy to feel this way. Get used to this heightened state as much as you can because it won’t hurt you; in fact if you don’t feel like this beforehand you may come across as flat and lifeless. It’s just the little voice in your head telling you that you are about to do something that requires lots of energy and focus.
The feeling I get prior to speaking to an audience is similar to when I’m waiting to get on a fast rollercoaster ride at an amusement park. I’m scared and excited all at the same time. If I let go and enjoy the adrenaline rush as soon as I start speaking it’s a wild, fun ride. If I worry about it I get very tense and it’s not enjoyable. Instead of fighting or trying to suppress these feelings, learn to harness this energy by accepting it. If you are able to do this you will enjoy public speaking because the audience will respond to your enthusiasm and excitement.
All good speakers don’t try to be anything or anyone but themselves. Using the ideas presented here will help you be an authentic speaker that can inspire and motivate any audience.
Phil Schibeci is a renowned corporate speaker and workshop facilitator, helping professionals to achieve the goals of their business. He is the co-author of Self Made: Real Australian Business Stories and How to get out of the RUT Race.
If you have any themes for business strategy that you would like to see more of, please mention them in the comments section below.
Related articles:
How to motivate your staff in tough times
Making small presentations work
