By Alexandra Blockton
A person can present a speech to an audience for many reasons. It can be to share a life-changing event that occurred in their lives to deliver a beneficial message. Grasping the audience’s attention by including statistics and academic research can create a space for long-lasting memorable moments. Speakers should get the audience hooked through words and gestures within the presentation. The key factor in the speech is getting the audience hooked at the start of the speech. It creates a space for the audience to become emotionally involved in the speaker’s words. It can be great for the speaker to start with a story because they can get the audience’s attention.
In the book titled, “How to Deliver a Great TED Talk,” bestselling author Akash Karia says, “Therefore when you tell a story, your audience will imagine it and ‘feel’ the same emotions that you’re describing.” This read shares the tips and techniques to make a speech creative and stand out while grasping the audience’s attention and sharing information, presenting a powerful speech.
Inside this book, author Karia shares information about public speaking and how to create a memorable speech while keeping the audience engaged. When someone starts by telling a story, it allows the audience to utilize their imaginations. This can be a meaningful experience as the audience will be able to understand the speaker’s story from the emotions evoked during the presentation. It can be an impactful moment for the speaker and audience. A speaker’s story must have a cure to it that is about resolving the conflict. The cure must focus on the audience members benefiting from an experience they have been through or are currently going through in life. “The cure is what adds value to your audience’s life,” Karia wrote. This draws the audience’s attention, keeping them focused and waiting for more.
In addition, the characters within the story should have basic detailed information about them, because it assists in helping the audience create a mental image of the characters. The characters should change because of the initial conflict. For example, after a character from the story has been through challenging times at one point in their life, they go on to overcome those challenges and become successful in life. Karia wrote, “Share struggles before your successes.”
Furthermore, the speaker should take the time to write, read, review, and rewrite their story as many times as needed. The speech’s beginning and ending are the most important portions of the presentation, and the speaker should plan them with creativity about the topic of their presentation. The speaker should seek feedback regarding their speech. This could take place while rehearsing in front of another person, a few individuals, or recording oneself and reviewing the video to check for errors that don’t add value to their speech.
When the speaker gets on stage before beginning their presentation, they should always pause while making eye contact. It is a way the speaker can connect with their audience and smile. But if the speaker is looking to create tension regarding their speech, the speaker shouldn’t include a smile when acknowledging their audience. “I usually get nervous before an important presentation, but by pausing for a couple of seconds before I start, I can usually get rid of the butterflies in my stomach,” Karia wrote.
This read serves an excellent purpose for anyone willing to enhance their presentation skills and create a memorable speech. It shares detailed information on how to make a speech credible, grab the audience’s attention, share hilarious moments if needed, and how to present the overall best speech.
