Speaking engagements are a critical part of any public relations campaign. They allow a person to get before their target audience and directly communicate with them. Authors find that after a speaking engagement, members of the audience will purchase copies of their book. Business leaders find that after a speaking engagement members of the audience will be interested in their products and services. In addition, speaking engagements assist in branding the speaker as an expert in their field. Despite all of these benefits many people find speaking engagements to be challenging and nerve wracking.
What are some tips to help when doing speaking engagements?
- Know your purpose for speaking. Are you looking to help in branding yourself as an expert? Are you looking for sales? Knowing what you hope to achieve from the speech helps in the development of the speech and developing key points to zero in on.
- Know the audience. It is critical that you know who will be in the audience; the level of understanding they have on your subject matter; and what they hope to learn and achieve by attending and listening to you. Knowing this will allow you to develop the key points in your delivery.
- Keep it simple. When crafting your speech have three main points that you want to get across. More than three will lose the attention of the audience.
- Use stories. A personal story with some humor and facts always is a hit with an audience. It is also a way to connect with attendees.
- Concentrate on the beginning and the ending. Audiences pay the most attention to a speaker’s opening and closing remarks. You want those parts of your speech to be memorable and have a call to action for the audience.
Speaking engagements are critical in any public relations program. Utilizing these tips will help any speaker achieve the results they are seeking.
