Secrets Of The World’s Best Speakers

What do John F Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Dr. Martin Luther King have in common? They are all great speakers who touched people’s lives and changed the world through their speeches. There are thousands of talks delivered by many speakers every day but not all have the same impact on listeners.

How then, are some of the world’s top speakers able to influence millions of people through their talks? Here are some of the reasons why these speakers are considered the best in the public speaking world:

Plan, Research, Write, and Rehearse

Talks from some of the world’s top speakers may seem spontaneous and unrehearsed but nothing could be further from this. Speakers carefully plan, research, write, and rehearse their talks. The topics they discuss are well-thought of. The topics they choose are those they are personally passionate about and believe strongly in. When they do, their passion is effectively reflected and sensed by their listeners. Their passion enables them to talk with confidence and move their audience. Good speakers are aware of the importance and impact of a well-crafted talk delivered with passion.

In addition, the world’s top speakers use simple language, free of jargon and complex terminology. The human brain has the ability to process and retain just a small amount of information at any given time and good speakers know that short but easy to digest and meaningful sentences are more impactful. They avoid overwhelming their audience with endless rambling. They keep their talks as simple as possible and focused on driving home their main message instead of building up to it in long-winded speeches. They resist the temptation to over speak.

Do not just memorize

Great speakers do not memorize their talk off by heart nor deliver them word for word. Written words can sound different when spoken depending on how they are said and the emphasis put on each word. Therefore, they try hard to internalize the main ideas they wish to share. This way, their talks come across authentic and spontaneous. Dr. Luther King Jr. implemented exactly this when delivering his famous speech “I Have a Dream”.

Be appealing to the audience

Great speakers are aware of the importance of their tone. Their tone appeals to the senses and emotions of their listeners since people are guided more by emotions than logic. For example, passion and nervousness are highly contagious emotions and listeners are quick to sense them and react accordingly. Effective communicators are aware of this so they vary the volume, pace, and pitch of their voice. They use well-timed pauses to add drama to their talks. This, combined with emphasizing certain words, enable speakers to effectively underline important points. They also get their audience's attention by speaking slowly.

Great speakers also use appropriate body language when delivering their talks. They understand the importance of sharing ideas and emotions non-verbally. They employ specific gestures, appropriate facial expressions, and eye contact. Eye contact gives the audience the impression that the speakers are talking to them individually, making listeners much more attentive and engaged.

As speakers, they are aware that their audience want and expect to be led by them. Confident body language inspire people to follow the speakers throughout the presentation. Certain gestures help portray effective speakers as leaders. Their overall display of energy when delivering their talk contributes greatly to the impact they make on their audience.

Connect and Engage

Effective speakers also know how their manners impacts their talks. They engage their listeners in personal conversations. Also, they speak for their audience and not for themselves. They focus more on what their listeners want to know rather than what they think their listeners should know. Seasoned speakers put themselves in their listeners' heads and hearts. Effective and captivating speakers touch the heart of their audience.

Their talks go beyond just sharing facts. Their talks share ideas. They structure their presentation in order to inspire action. Also, they “converse with” rather than “talk to” to create a bond between their audience and themselves. They often use the word “you” to engage their listeners regardless of the size of their audience. Effective speakers try to involve their audience in their talks by asking questions and waiting for the answer. This makes their listeners more receptive and involved.

Effective speakers can be emphatic by reiterating the same things without sounding repetitive. They are able to choose the right synonyms to convey the same ideas.

Molecular biologist, John Medina, says” An emotionally charged event is the best-processed kind of external stimulus ever measured. Emotionally charged events persist much longer in our memories and are recalled with greater accuracy than neutral memories.”

Therefore, triggering listeners' emotion is effective in increasing their interest and attention to make a stronger impact. Great speakers know that all their effort in preparing good talks can be wasted. Especially if they do not get to know and find ways to engage their audience, things could be disastrous. The relationship they build with their audience plays a major role in the success of their talk.

Great speakers are also focused. They are persistent and never lose sight of their goals as they speak. They have a clear purpose every time they deliver a talk. It is either to persuade, inspire, or share ideas.

Being aware of the secrets behind some of the world’s best public speakers and emulating them will help you improve your speaking skills. Remember, your goal should not necessarily to become a perfect public speaker, but an effective, authentic and inspiring one.