I spent my whole day listening to 30 eminent speakers and panelists at a conference recently. It was a mind-opening session and the content was consistently world-class. What wasn’t consistent was the delivery of the speakers.

Some of them had me glued to their every word and some of them were such that I found myself disengaged. As I realized this, I made it a game of observation. I started paying attention to what was it that made me listen intently to some speakers and lose interest in others. To my surprise, the speakers who dint bore the audience exercised effective communication skills and presentation skills. I definitely, learned a lot through this game.

What the Powerful Speakers did:

1. They exuded warmth with a smiling and happy face. They looked really happy to be talking to the audience, full of enthusiasm and energy.
2. The way their eyes moved, I actually felt they looked at me a few times. I don’t know if it is true or even possible considering that there were two rows of cluster tables ahead of me, but that’s what I felt.
3. They asked questions to the audience… wanting a show of hands or multiple-choice questions. Kept me glued and guessing. The information delivered through MCQs helped debunk many myths.
4. They knew their subject cold. They came across as experts, and their passion for their subject was palpable and contagious.
5. They exercised their public speaking skills effortlessly, made us smile, giggle or laugh out loud with their humor.
6. They told stories…personal ones, global ones. I noticed how my curiosity went up as I waited for the speaker to complete the story and see how it ended. I was emotionally hooked.
7. Most importantly, they were extremely vulnerable. They made jokes about themselves. They spoke from the heart. They gave us a peek into what their challenges had been. I would say that their authenticity led to their likability score skyrocketing.

These speakers impressed me and left me inspired. They opened my mind, challenged my current thinking, and delivered information that I can recall now even though it has been a few days. In short, their talks had great stickiness. Another thing that I observed was a line of individuals wanting to talk to these powerful speakers in the breaks. In a matter of minutes, these speakers had created so much credibility and built an executive presence for themselves!

Actually, isn’t it true that every time we stand in front of people and express ourselves, in a gathering, a meeting, or a conference we have the opportunity to build our professional brand? However, the fear of public speaking is also recorded as one of the biggest fears we have. And it keeps most people away from developing effective communication skills. Here’s an upcoming practice-based presentation skill workshop designed to equip you on some of these critical aspects of making Powerful Presentations and ways to improve your presentation skills.

It was so enriching to reflect on the craft of public speaking. Being in the audience helped me understand the audience’s point of view better. It gave great insights into how the one-to-many dynamics work and what one can do to create a deeper connection with the audience. Can’t wait to try some of these ideas. Which of these would you like to start doing more consciously?

p.s. Keep watching this space for my next article titled “How to Bore your Audience“

Yoshita Swarup Sharma:

Founder & CEO – A Brighter Life | ICF Certified Executive Coach | Leadership facilitator | NLP Practitioner| Inner Transformation Specialist

Yoshita Swarup Sharma, CEO & Co-Founder of A Brighter Life, is an internationally certified executive coach (PCC). For the last eleven years, she has coached several senior leaders and CXO across the variety of industries and organizations. Recently she was awarded as one of the most influential coaching leaders of India by the World HRD Congress. She’s a leadership facilitator, advanced NLP Practitioner and a specialist on personal transformation. She writes her blog from her own experiences and reflections . She brings with her 23 years of overall work experience and has previously worked as a Marketing professional in corporates like Coca-Cola, Dabur and Ranbaxy She’s also a Kathak student and co-founder of Subah, A Covid Widow support group

Contact Yoshita Swarup Sharma