Quick question; who is your all-time favorite motivational speaker? Or better yet, let’s take that a step or two further- who is your favorite on-screen personality from a movie or television show?
Whether you name Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Carson or Hugh Laurie does not matter here as much as identifying what made them so special on the silver screen. Because if you think about it, the actual words we share with our audiences really have minimal impact- it’s the way we use those words to create inspiration that’s so incredibly powerful. And we create this power by letting our personality shine through.
How do we do that? That’s simple…just be your best self on stage.
What do I mean by that? Well, some people are outgoing and they always seem to be the life of the party wherever they go. Others are naturally assertive, emphatic, charismatic or many other qualities; and these unique traits will define who we should be on stage. Making our personality come alive is simply a matter of focusing on these qualities and building our speeches around them.
The problem is some speakers don’t show up as themselves. They may be nervous and show up stiff or cautious, they may have a perception of what a speaker should be like. When I first started speaking I thought I should look serious and professional. My mentor told me to relax, smile, and have fun.
So here’s what I want you to do.
Let’s prepare for a quick speech right now that’s entitled, “Three Reasons Peanut Butter Makes you Smarter.” I want you to make up the three reasons and write them down on a note card, and it doesn’t matter if they sound convincing, crazy or just ridiculously funny. Next, grab your smartphone and record the audio as you speak for about thirty seconds on each reason…and be sure to complete this exercise with absolutely no practice, prep time or research.
And just for the record, I’m pretty sure that peanut butter does not make you smarter. That’s why it’s such a great topic for this exercise- your answers themselves don’t really matter as much as how you deliver them.
Now play back your recording and find your best moment throughout the whole speech. This is your “best self” as a public speaker and it’s how you should approach every topic from here on out.