To Speak Or Not To Speak, That Is The Question

As a keynote speaker I often am approached by aspiring speakers who want to know what it takes to be a successful presenter.  I always hesitate to tell them what I think it takes, because there are so many different types of speakers that have grown to be far more successful than I, such as Tony Robbins (author of Unleash the Power Within), yet I do not find him that great of a speaker, in fact, walked out of his seminar the first time I heard him.  So, I don't know that I have the right set of tips ... but here is my take on what makes a great speaker.

1. Be Comfortable In Your Own Skin
   Standing in front of a large group of people is basically like bearing your soul to the world.  They not only assess what you are saying, but also your age, your appearance, your manners, your body language, your experience level, your thought process ... EVERYTHING!  Therefore, you have to be very comfortable with yourself, the worse traits for speakers to have are inflated egos, defensive behaviors and know-it-all attitudes.  In my estimation, these people will crash and burn in the first 10 minutes on stage.
2. Be Comfortable With Your Content
   As a presenter, audience members are attending to gain knowledge and ideas from an expert regarding the topic being presented.  Therefore, presenting on a book you have just read, or a trend you have just heard about, is probably not a good idea.  Present on something that you are comfortable with, have first hand experience with and have implemented or practiced multiple times.  You have to remember, on stage is not the time to be making stuff up!
3. Be Comfortable Not Knowing
   Sometimes I think you gain tons of audience trust by admitting that you don't know something.  It is inevitable that at some point, someone from the audience is going to ask a questions that you don't know the answer to ... awkward!  The best thing you can do is compliment them for asking such an insightful question, admit to having not previously thought about the content of their great question and then throw it out to the audience to see if they have an answer.  You know the old saying, "Two heads are better than one", well, you have an audience of heads so you are sure to come up with a buffet of great potential answers.
4. Be Comfortable Sharing The Good And The Bad
   The best and most inspiring teaching method is life experience.  Don't make the mistake of sticking to your success stories, while they are great and lend credibility to you as a speaker, they tend to get boring.  Your "Epic Failures" are what are truly entertaining, and again, I believe by sharing these failure stories you gain the audience trust, you seem more real and trustworthy to them.
5. Be Comfortable Making A Fool Of Yourself
   The key to a successful speaking engagement is comprehension, retention and implementation.  Many studies have proven that laughter creates a positive learning attitude aiding the brain to comprehend at a more rapid rate.  Additionally, this positive attitude inflates the motivational desire to implement the skill the audience member has learned.  Therefore, make a fool of yourself, tell embarrassing stories, create bizarre scenarios to drive your point home.  Now is not the time to dress yourself in the armor of pride, now is the time to strip and show them your foolish self.  If they are not laughing, they are not learning!!!

I am blessed enough to have a friendship with Joel Zeff', one of America's funniest motivational speakers.  He has the innate ability to not only make a fool of himself, but also complete strangers from the audience, and might I add, without getting a fist thrown at him.  His ability to engage a crowd through humor, present a point and drive it home with a summary is inspiring.  He once told me, you have to treat the stage like your home, say what you want to say, be what you want to be, do what you want to do ... and people will want to come and visit you at your home, the stage.  Because of this comment and his undeniable success, I have presented my Top 5 "Be Comfortable..." speaking tips!  I hope that you find the stage as comfortable as Joel and I have, and soon call it home.

Break A Leg, and hope to see you on the next speaking circuit!