The importance of energy:
When speaking at a conference one shouldn’t underestimate the importance of energy as part
of your delivery. I recall the advice given to me when I strated my sales career many years ago. Always be an inch more enthusiastic than your customer. How can you expect anyone to be enthusiastic about your product, service or idea if you aren’t!
Now you might not think of yourself as a sales person but when you are presenting your ideas you are effectingly selling. The fact that you are tired, hung over or just plain jaded is no excuse. If your outcome is to get your audience to agree with and take action as a result of your speech then you need to look and sound enthusiastic!
I was recently working at a series of regional conferences and at each one the leader of the
organisation opened the meeting with a keynote address. At the first one they were upbeat. excited, energised and they puller their audience along with them. By the fourth event they
were starting to look and sound a little flat. By the seventh, they were starting to sound
like a recording and there was a lot less energy and enthuisiasm.
Now I understand that it is difficult to say the same messages repeatedly and keep up your energy level but, it is vital that you do. You may have heard the words several times but your audience has not. Don’t they deserve to hear you speak as if it was for the first time?
So what can you do to keep your talk fresh?
1) Remind yourself of your objectives for the speech and think about the importance of your delivery and in helping you achieve that outcome.
2) Remind yourself that this audience haven’t heard it before.
3) Try to vary parts of the speech to maintain your own interest as well as that of your audience whilst keeping your key messages constant. E.g. a topical introduction.
4) Maintain your awareness of your energy level and do whatever you can to energise yourself before you take the stage e.g. exercise, deep breathing, visualise an appropriately energetic delivery.
You owe it to your audience to look and sound enthisiastic!
