It has always been my nature to assist as many passing ships as I can, and if your goal is to reach the heights in the speaking arena, here are my ten commandments of making it happen on the podium:
- Always wear glasses that don’t fall down on your nose, otherwise it makes your neck crane, your eyes strain and it sure as hell is a nuisance pushing them back all the time.
- Never agree to speak without a microphone – not good for the voice, strains the cords, makes you yell and limits your life as a speaker.
- Wear bright and cheerful clothes – it takes the pressure off looking good. It’s fashionable and covers up all your bodyline faults and gets them concentrating on why the hell you wore that today. Minds that are on simple things listen.
- Never, ever forget the jokes. Laughter lightens the load, it highlights all your best qualities and sure as hell is better than belly aching or lecturing.
- Don’t ever complain. Be grateful for what you have got, what you’re going to get, and for the fact that you’re never, ever going to get what you really want, no matter what. It’s easier on the blood pressure.
- Be cautiously optimistic. We are all full of dreams, hopes and prayers, and there is nothing that isn’t going to go wrong in any one day. So why make the fall harder? Make it easier by being yourself and delivering realistic goals and ideals that we can all have a go at.
- Get the atmosphere right. Talk to the people you are going to speak to, get there early and have a chat. You will feel more comfortable, so will they. There is nothing worse than listening to some stranger amble on, nothing worse than not knowing someone, it all makes for better communication and apart from anything else, don’t you love a bit of a chat?
- Prepare, prepare, prepare. Winston Churchill once said when asked if he would speak at a function, “It depends on how long you want me to speak – one hour I can come straight away, half an hour might take a couple of weeks, five minutes will take much longer.” This little gem is the best ammunition I have ever been given.
- Be truthful and true to yourself. Never leave a doubt in anyone’s mind. Speak from the heart, the mind and soul, use your brain occasionally of course, and leave the body for other things.
- Add a little diversion. Moving pictures are always fun. Music is a delight and stills have to be hot shots and singular. If you can think of anything else, don’t be afraid of your intuition, go for it, grab the podium like there is nothing else happening that day and enjoy the moment.
Well there are a lot of words in these commandments, however I do hope that you find something in my list of thoughts and that you achieve your goals. By the way, the one thing I have noticed is that I have improved with practice – isn’t that an amazing discovery?
Lots of good wishes and best of luck
Gail Austen