Competent and Powerful Speaking

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Don’t just attend networking meetings: be the featured speaker at these events. That way you can take the lead and actually generate something of value from these get-togethers rather than leaving everything to chance. Kick your networking up a notch or two.

Use Public Speaking to Network and Gain Prestige

In every city, there are always more than a dozen or more networking events that take place every month. They are typically sponsored by chambers of commerce, neighborhood business communities or a number of different entites. The one things they all have in common is that they don’t have a budget to pay speakers so they are always on the lookout for interesting people who will come and speak for free. Your challenge is to turn this into a win-win proposition.

The Benefits of Speaking at Networking Events

Decision makers who are persent will approach you afterwards rather than you needing to go after them.

You position yourself as being more authoritative than anyone else who attends.

The people in the broader business community will get to know you and what you do.

Get a Handle on Topics and Speaking Skills

So what exactly can you speak about? The potential topics are limitless, but realistically you should focus on topics that are related to your industry that will also have broader appeal. As long as you have a presentation that is factual in nature rather than an overt sales presentation, you’ll do fine.

To make this tactic work, there is also one other prerequisite you need to address: you have to become a competent public speaker. Competent public speaking always translates into better sales ability. In fact, the benefits of public speaking are numerous:

You learn how to express ideas clearly

You become skilled at using body language

You learn how to get your point across

You get good at maintaining attention

You learn how to think on your feet

Overall, competence in public speaking enhances your self-confidence and enables you to become more powerful. It always takes practice to learn how to become a public speaker, which is way it is a worthwhile investment of your time to join Toastmasters or attend a public speaking course offered by your local community college or business training school.

Insider Tips

Always remember that body language is very importment in public speaking: Stand up straight but don’t appear too rigid. Lean back slightly and from time to time put your hand in your pocket so you appear to be at ease and relaxed.

Unless you’re at a podium, move around so you maintain the listener’s interest: Visualize a large W painted on the stage and walk along its imaginary lines from point to point. This type of controlled movement on stage keeps the audience interested.

Practice speaking loudly and clearly in advance: A powerful speaking voice comes from the diaphragm rather than the throat. Learn how to speak from your core. Practice this in private first so you know you’ll be able to project your voice well when the time comes to stand and deliver.

Learn how to maintain good eye contact with your audience: Make good eye contact with an audience member for 2-3 seconds and then do the same with someone else. You’ll know you’re getting this right when people start sitting up and paying attention.

Use enough humor: to keep people interested, but not so much that it becomes a distraction. The best humor is witty and usually serves as a good lead-in to your next topic.

By all means use notes while giving your presentation: but don’t resd from them. The same goes for PowerPoint presentations. There’s nothing worse than a speaker who reads what is written on their PowerPoint slides to the audience.

Insert some deliberate pauses into your speaking style: These are excellent for reinforcing key points or simply to give people time to absorb what you’re saying. Deliberate pauses also make you appear more profound and confident.

Handouts are fine as long as you give them out at the end of your talk: rather than at the beginning. If you hand them out too esrly, people will read them rather than listen to what you’re saying.

When it comes to public speaking, you learn by doing. Create some opportunities to do this on a regular basis. You’ll then be able to add some polish and finesse to the basic points outlined here.

How to Give Memorable Public Presentations

Enroll in a public speaking course or join your local Toastmasters.

Practice speaking in public at every available opportunity.

Learn how to master the mechanics: projecting your voice, using handouts, maintining eye contact, etc.

Contact organizers of networking events and offer yourself as a featured speaker.