Want to improve your public speaking success in 2016? Here's a look at this year's Top 10 public speaking blogs featuring helpful techniques and advice.
This year, like every year, has been a time of breakthrough speeches and presentations. From Caitlyn Jenner's acceptance of the ESPY Award, to Mohammed Qahtani's humorous-yet-serious Toastmaster's World Champion of Public Speaking entry, to François Hollande's speech to Parliament following the Paris attacks, history has given us speeches to remember.
In 2015, I published 52 blogs in the "Speak for Success!" site here at The Genard Method. As I do at this time each year, I've compiled a list of the most popular posts. Judging by the numbers, these are the blogs that you found most helpful, interesting, or that elicited the most comments.
If you read this column regularly, you'll have seen some or all of these articles. Take a moment now to remind yourself of those you found worthwhile, or discover others you may have missed.
As always, my heartfelt thanks for sharing this journey through the world of public speaking. The speeches, talks, and presentations you deliver are changing the world in ways large and small. So here's to another great year of speaking! And here’s my Top 10 list from 2015, starting with the 10th most popular blog and moving up to #1.
#10. "How to Improve Your Vocal Presence on the Phone." (October 11)
How important is your phone voice? In the absence of visuals (always a strong factor in an audience's perception), listeners' judgment of you and what you say depends largely on your voice. So if you want to succeed with customers, clients, prospects, and stakeholders, you need to pay attention to your vocal skills over the phone. Here are nine strategies you can use to improve your vocal presence.
#9. "Body Language Secrets Every Presenter Needs to Know" (April 5)
If you're looking to boost your executive presence and leadership qualities as a speaker, you need to use body language effectively. What you say matters, of course. But one of your primary tools for making that message come alive is the way you move and gesture. Here is how to amplify what you say to a power beyond the results that can be achieved by words alone.
#8. "3 Secrets Ingredients of Crafting a Great Speech" (June 21)
Are you too focused on delivering information when you prepare a presentation? Instead, you should be crafting your talk for the ears of your listeners. Here is how to use storytelling techniques to allow the emotional power of your speeches to emerge.
#7. "How to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking" (March 15)
Do you suffer from nervousness or speech anxiety at the prospect of giving a presentation? If you share this form of social anxiety that affects millions, you may be interested in this blog. Here is where I discuss my book Fearless Speaking, and The Genard Method's intensive Fear of Public Speaking course. As an actor and speech coach, I've spent the past 15 years helping people overcome their fear of public speaking, and here's where I show you how it's done.
#6. "Starting a Speech: How to Avoid This Common Mistake" (April 11)
Want to start a speech the right way? It doesn't involve jumping right into your introduction. Influencing an audience the way you want to requires having a positive relationship with listeners. That's why your audience greeting is so important. Learn more in this blog about this priceless opportunity to succeed with audiences.
#5. "How to Use Your Voice to Convince Others." (February 8)
It’s no secret that when it comes to persuading, cajoling, informing, and motivating listeners, the human voice reigns supreme. Your voice is the public speaking instrument that allows you to elicit emotional responses in listeners that match your own. That's a critical way of building trust and belivability, and getting audiences to respond the way you want them to. Learn here how to develop a more dynamic voice to achieve your aims as a speaker.
#4. "Body Language Tips to Be a More Expressive Speaker" (February 1)
Body language continues to be the most popular category of my blogs in the Speak for Success! space. In this piece, I discuss the link between what you say and how you express it physically. In today's digital age, you run the risk of becoming a talking head if you deliver important content while ignoring nonverbal communication. This blog discusses becoming aware of using body language, along with how to use gestures in public speaking.
#3. "How to Be a Clear, Concise, and Compelling Speaker" (February 15)
The most effective speeches and presentations involve a marriage between great content and a compelling delivery. This blog discusses how to open a speech effectively, use compelling evidence, and craft a memorable conclusion to your speech.
#2. "The Churchill Method: How to Be an Exciting Public Speaker" (February 22)
Among the pleasures of being a speech coach is sharing with clients great speeches and speakers. In the living memory of today's English-speaking people, no one deserves a place of honor more than Winston Churchill. In this blog, I take a look at Churchill the master speaker at work. Learn here the Churchill formula for speaking with presence and charisma.
#1. "Nervous Body Language: The Top Ten Signs" (November 1)
The year's top blog came late in the year and, not surprisingly, concerned body language. As powerful a tool as body language is, it can also be counter-productive if it distracts an audience. From pacing to fidgeting to purposeless movement, here are 10 "dont's," and in each case, how to use natural body language instead.
Here's to great public speaking in 2016. Keep your eye on this space for more tips, tools, and techniques you can use to truly "speak for success!"
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