How To Deliver An Effective Speech
Several aspects of your body language impact on the delivery of your speech. Some of these factors are discussed below.
Look into the eyes of the audience:
Make eye contact with your listeners:
If it’s a small gathering then alternate between people if it’s a large group then look at small groups. Take a sweeping glance at the group you are addressing before starting. Stand on the podium, smile, glance at your listeners and then start your talk, this will help garner attention.
To ensure eye contact, use small bits with speech outlines/ points and not read your talk. Pepper your talk with quotes; hard data etc and reading this out will evoke trust.
“Wow” factor:
Build in a “wow” factor in your presentation. Aspects of your talk should evoke a “Wow!” from your listeners. This factor could be an anecdote, numerical data, dramatic point, or a highly evocative visual that helps listeners understand. This factor will also enhance your enthusiasm.
Comedy:
Lacing your speech with some comedy makes it more interesting and lighter and more productive. And make your listeners more open to accept your views and establish you as an amiable individual. Keep comedy less till you gain lots of firsthand knowledge.
Recall some embarrassing incident of your past and make a joke out of it. Never make jokes about your audience but always to make it about yourself. Show them that you are open to take jokes at yourself.
Avoid long anecdotes, they become monotonous after sometime. Use cartoons as visual aids and display them along.
Make your audience to think:
As you close the speech make sure that your listeners have something to take back. Sometimes the closing comments may produce better impact. It is human tendency to recall what they heard last. So it is good to discuss your main points and choose the last words so that they create impact on your audience.
