>>Tip 1-It must be your own speech. Don’t ever take anyone else’s material and try to make it yours. You have to speak in public with authenticity. It’s got to be your own stuff to start with.

>>Tip 2-It must get them laughing. You have to thinking in terms of entertaining and funny. In my business we say “funny as money”. That’s what we tell each other all the time. If you can tell the story that can move a heart, awesome. If you can get them laughing at the same time, even better. If they can laugh and turn it into a cry you just hit pay dirt. I don’t care what your material is.

>>Tip-3 It has to crystal clear what you message is. First of all, you got to decide what is my message. A lot of people come up to me and say “James I want to be a speaker like you, that’s what I’ve always wanted to do. My friends say I speak well, I want to join so where do I start.” My first question I asked them is, “what’s your message?” People look at me dumbfounded sometimes and say “I don’t even know what you’re asking me?”. What is the message that you need tell everybody? What is this message that is burning on your heart so much the you have to tell everybody? People look at me and say I can speak on anything, whatever they want me to speak on I can speak on. Wrong! This may be the only time they ever hear me and I want them to hear this special message that I have that no one else has. In other words, your speech will be powerful if it is coming from your heart. If it is just a powerpoint information presentation. Cancel the event and just email it to them. Your presentation skills will shine when you put your heart into the message.

>>Tip 4 It must move the company or audience forward. Does the message help them improve as a company or in their personal lives? Don’t let them leave the room after your presentation the same way the came in. You have their attention so go for it!
Give them inspiration and a call to action.

>>Tip 5 It needs to be a signature story. In other words, it is a story you have practiced, rehearsed and tested for impact. You can test it at dinner with family, on video and get feedback. But it needs to be a great story. As a professional speaker, I have several signature stories, as many speakers do. My favorite one is, the Nordstrom Story, so that’s my story about customer service that audiences rave about every time. I use props and get them laughing at my mistake of leaving my dress clothes at home. I talk about a real life drama where Nordstrom opened their doors early to help me buy clothes before my keynote speech. (Listen to part of it by clicking here) These are just some quick tips to consider as you first write out your speech. In my workshops I spend 3 hours just talking about how to tell a story so you can see there is much more to learn about making great speeches.

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