I don't mind telling you that I'd like to become a better
speaker. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that because of the importance of
public speaking you pretty much feel the same way. However, we always face the
big challenge - what do we need to do in order to become better? Should we run
away for a week in the woods with a speaking guru? Perhaps, but it turns out
that there are a number of small things that we can do that will have a big
impact on how good of a speaker we become.
Don't Worry, Be Happy
All too often I run into speakers who are not happy. When I
talk with them and try to find out what's up, more often than not what I
discover is that somebody has done something that this person feels has wronged
them. What they have forgotten is that ultimately, they are the ones who are in
control of how they feel and if they are going to feel happy, then it's going
to be all up to them.
Being a speaker is tough work - it truly takes a lot of
energy out of all of us. If you choose to be unhappy, then you are going to
discover that being unhappy also takes a lot of work. You'll have less energy
to give to your speeches. It's not worth it so don't be unhappy. Develop a
positive attitude and you'll be ready to all of the opportunities and
challenges that come along with being a speaker.
Did You Remember To Smile Today?
I don't know about you, but I sure wish that I had the
ability to control other people. It just seems like everything would go that
much easier because everyone would be doing exactly what I wanted them to do. I
don't have that ability, but I do have the ability to change other people's
moods. All I have to do is to smile at them.
When you smile at someone they really have no choice about
what they are going to do next. They are almost forced to smile back at you.
When they do this, something happens and all of a sudden they just feel better.
What this means is that they now associate you with feeling better. From that
association great things can happen. And it all started with just a smile.
Don't Forget Your Sense Of Humor
There are a lot of serious things that we deal with in this
life. However, if we don't have a sense of humor then when the unexpected
happens we are going to be poorly equipped to handle it. If when something
happens, you are just going to stand there and look upset, then that is exactly
how your audience is going to be feeling.
Instead, what you need to do is to develop the ability to
roll with events as they occur. Look at everything that happens to you and find
the lighter side of it. I'm not talking about trying to memorize jokes here,
rather I'm talking about having the ability to see events as they unfold and to
make your audience laugh about being part of it. If you can get good at this,
then you'll be able to keep your audience focused on you even as the unexpected
happens.
What All Of This Means For You
When we think about becoming a better speaker, I'm pretty
sure that we all picture going off to some military style boot camp where drill
sergeants run us through speaking exercises day and night until we can do them
in our sleep. Such a place may exist, but it turns out that becoming a better
speaker and maximizing the benefits of public speaking is actually much easier
to accomplish.
The first thing that we need to understand is that we control
our mood - nobody else does. What this means for you is that if you want to be
happy, it's going to be up to you to make it happen, not someone else. Next, we
have the ability to influence how other people feel. All we have to do is to
smile at them and they'll smile back at us. This makes everyone feel better.
Finally, when you head off to speak, make sure that you take your sense of
humor along. We don't control the world so as things happen, make sure that you
and your audience can laugh at them.
When you realize that becoming a better speaker is not only
fairly easy to do, but is also in your hands to accomplish, all of sudden this
starts to seem like it might be something that you could accomplish. The three
things that we've discussed are easy to do. Give it a try and see what comes of
it!