Direction and a plan to get started

• Slow Down when you speak. Your listeners have an opportunity to absorb and reflect on what you’re saying.
• Use Voice Exercises to strengthen your voice.
• Record And Listen To Your Voice. Look for ways to improve your pronunciation, your delivery, and your pacing.
• Record Phone Conversations. Replay to hear different ways that you could improve your delivery and articulation next time.
• Focus On Pauses. The drama and power of a speech are contained in the silences that you create as you move from point to point.
• Eat And Drink Well. Energy is essential for good speaking and voice projection. Cold water can chill your vocal chords and decrease the amount of warmth in your voice.

And mastery is the foundation of an extraordinary presentation. So express an enthusiastic, passionate, and meaningful connection to the topic you are presenting in your public speech.

You cannot be an inspiration to your peers if you are inspired yourself.

Stories connect us. Stories stimulate and engage the human brain.

Stories help the speaker connect with the audience and make the audience more agreeable with the speaker's point of view.

• Acoustics are the most important part of a speech delivery . Keep your voice clear and consistent to keep you audience engaged.
• Content is crucial. Well thought out content with good articulation is essential for a great speech.
• The best speeches are emotional, because they are powerful. Communicate anger, sadness, love, joy or excitement, in a meaningful, authentic and impactful way.

The German sociologist from the early 20th-century Max Weber wrote charisma is a quality that sets an individual “apart from ordinary men,” and causes others to treat him as “endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities.”

Charismatic Leadership Tactics range from the use of metaphors and storytelling to nonverbal methods of communication like open posture and animated, representative gestures at key moments.

The more charismatic leadership tactics used, the more individuals will be seen as leader-like by others.

Make it about the ideas you want to share.

Take the focus off of yourself and putting it instead onto the valuable information you are going to deliver. That way, the speech becomes an exchange of ideas and it creates a place of passion and purpose.

Oftentimes, the reason that we mess up is that we start paying too much attention to the details.

When you’re speaking and you’re trying to get the point across, think about the 3 points you want to get across.  This way,  you'll focus on the outcome of what you’re trying to say rather than every word coming out of your mouth.

Instead of a quick escape by flashing an 'Any questions?' slide, invite clarifications and feedback, actively engaging the audience with the points discussed.

Share your conclusion at the end, reinforcing the key message of your presentation.

1. Create an overarching story that is different from what you’re apparently talking about. 
2. Something important has to be at stake. 
3. Its viewpoint has to run counter to the one held by those currently in power. 

• Don’t try too hard. Wit flows from passion for the subject.
• Wit is all about overturning expectations. The wit is in the surprise.
• To be witty, take the subject, but not yourself, seriously.  Wit begins with yourself, with self-deprecation.

• If you want your audience to quiet down, to be calm or to perhaps hang on your every word, speak more quietly.
• f you want to rile up your audience, speak with a stronger voice. You can also use volume to convey your passion.
• Try not to speak too quickly. Most audiences will have trouble following along. Instead, speak at a moderate pace. Slowing down your speech even more will emphasize each word.

Microphones just make any speaking mistakes or tics louder and easier for your audience to detect.

• TED-style talks are personal. Your passion and sense of purpose create an energy boost for both you and your audience.
• TED talks often take us on a journey. Where business speeches generally focus on a desired outcome, TED talks are also about the process of realizing how you’re going to get there.
• TED talks are concise. Every word of a TED talk counts.
• TED-style talks present an “aha!” moment.

• Choose a topic you’re personally passionate about
• Play with different ways to narrate your journey of discovery around that topic
• Stay focused on your most important point
• Understand what makes all of this important to your audience.