SOAR TO SUCCESS / Personal Growth Strategies Christopher Witt, Los Angeles based executive speech coach. In the realm of public speaking, the message is inseparable from the messenger. If audiences don’t trustyou, theywon’t listentoyou.Thehard truth is that your audience will begin to judge you before you even have a chance to introduce yourself. First impressions are an opportunity to make or break your presentation. To gain your audience’s trust, simply preparing a good speech is not enough; it helps to prepare yourself. How do you prepare yourself to make a strong first impression? Fortunately, public speakers can rely on a set of general guidelines to put their best foot forward and establish credibility in a variety of situations. What can you do to boost and maintain public speaking credibility? • Dress appropriately for the audience. Keep your attire simple and professional. • Introduce yourself by name, title and area of expertise. Surprising how many people forget to do this. • Maintain eye contact. Look directly at your audience to maintain a connection. • Speak with confidence, clarity and enthusiasm. Confidence is contagious! • Present your credentials without arrogance. Audiences trust people who prove that other people value their expertise. • Reveal a personal connection; why does this topic matter to you and how has it affected you? • Use evidence that your audience finds credible. Facts, figures, respected authorities, charts and graphs, anecdotes andpersonal testimonials—they all convey differing degrees of credibility to differing audiences. Evidence that is conclusive to one audience may be dubious to another. • Think of your presentation as a way of benefiting them. Show them how your idea–your initiative, proposal, project, product, service–will help them solve a problem of theirs or help them achieve a goal that matters to them. • Be the embodiment of your message. You are the message. Everything about you (your character, knowledge, experience, values) and how you present yourself (your voice, your gestures, your facial expressions) will reinforce your credibility if and only if they are in alignment with what you’re saying. Treat the audience the way they would like to be treated is also crucial to building credibility. To gain your audience’s trust, simply preparing a good speech is not enough; it helps to prepare yourself.”
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