Using clear and vivid language is one of the public speaking competencies discussed in the textbook.

By taking action on these competencies, your speeches and presentations will improve, making you a more influential speaker.

Follow these steps:-

1. Rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 for each of the competencies below (a score of 1 means you feel you are currently ineffective with that particular competency and a score of 10 means you already excel at it)
2. Pick 2 competencies where you scored less than 6 and commit to improving them immediately.
3. If you need tools to improve these two competencies, book your FREE 15-minute discovery call with me HERE
4. Revisit your competencies every 4 weeks and let me know your progress!

Now rate yourself  1-10 on the following competencies   

Download Self Assessment Form

Storytelling

Being able to tell a story and make a point is at the heart of public speaking. Storytellers master the elements of storytelling and include them in every speech.

Selling

Every presentation is selling something whether it is an idea, product, service, or simply selling your audience on the benefit of listening to your message. Embrace selling tools into every message.

Process-Driven

Instead of building themselves up, influential speakers build up the processes (or formulas or systems) that will improve the condition of their audience members.

Next Steps

Have a definite next step that you want your audiences to take immediately following your presentation.  Build your entire speech around getting your audiences to take that specific next step.

Anchor-driven

Experienced speakers realise that “what’s loose is lost” and the best way to tighten their presentations is by using various anchors (i.e. stories, analogies, acronyms, activities, videos, etc.) to make their points memorable.

Begin with a Bang

It is vital to capture the attention of your audience within the first 30 seconds – open with a bang.

Clear organisation

An influential speaker creates a well-organised presentation, with clear points and effective transitions and signposts to help the speech flow well.

Physical Behaviours

How do you utilise your speaking space and body language to engage your audience?  Do you use props that don’t distract from you, rather are used to enhance your message?

 Clear & vivid Language

Influential speakers avoid technical jargon and filler words (you know, um, like) as these can be distracting to your audience.  Choose the appropriate and descriptive language for your audience.                                                                                                                   

Succinct

Experienced Speakers know that squeezing their information in squeezes their audience out. As a result, they never try to fit in too much information into one speech.

You-focused

A speech is never about what the speaker gives but always about what the audience gets. Therefore, instead of saying, “I would like to share with you…” you say, “You’re about to receive…” The focus is always on “you” (the audience).

Dynamic

Dynamic delivery skills that keep audiences engaged, energized, and wanting more.

Involvement

Get and keep your audiences involved from the beginning to the end of your presentations. Competent speakers realise that people buy into what they help create and making their audience part of the process helps to sell their message.

Staging

Influential speakers not only use the physical stage to clarify their message but also use ‘virtual staging’ to create the healthiest learning environments online and offline

Closure in conclusion

Develop a conclusion that reinforces your message and had a clear call to action.

Research/Assessment driven

Do pre-speech research and constantly assess the energy of the audience throughout the speech.  This is how Influential Speakers get and stay connected.                                                                                                                    

What are public speaking competencies?

Why is it important to use accurate clear vivid and appropriate language in a speech?

What are the 11 speaking competencies?

Which public speaking competency from our textbook speaks to successfully shaping or adapting a speech to your audience?