Authenticity Getting up in front of a group of strangers can be intimidating. Even seasoned speakers can have the occasional "butterflies" just prior to walking on stage. Knowing the reasons for this anxiety can help negate it. The first and most obvious reason is that we do not like to be judged. We recognize that our audience will be judging us the minute we appear. It is a natural instinct to quickly identify appearance, stature and body posturing, as these characteristics tell us many things. Should I have any reason to fear this individual, do they appear friendly or intimidating, and can I tnist them? It would benefit you most to have your intentions geared toward sen ing others and not be self-sen ing. Your audience will quickly discern your intention by how you address them. If your goal is to just see how many you can close, then you'll find yourself with very few takers at the end of your presentation. However, if your goal is to change lives, then allow yourself to be transparent and authentic. This means communicate to your audience the same way you would a family member or a friend. Whatever emotion you are feeling, you must express it. When speaking on stage or in front of a camera, you will need to amplify your facial expressions and body movements by fifty percent. Sen ing others also means allowing yourself to speak forth-rightly and not hold back. You can really shake people up when your intention is pure. The second most common reason for liaving the prc-talk butterflies is not knowing your own material well enough. Knowing your material doesn't mean you can get through the presentation fairly well with your power point. However, know ing your material means you can fluently speak about any section of your presentation, on the fly. without a single power point slide. When you know your material this well, you will rarely, if ever, have any aaxiety prior to speaking. Stories People will not go home remembering all the facts and statistics you share at your presentation, but they will remember your stories. Now. I"m not telling you to leave out all the facts and never use statistics. I am telling you that your audience came to be entertained. They came for the show! Your stories can be of your personal experiences, family members and certainly your experience with practice members. I always made it a point to tell at least two other stories besides my personal story. In my repertoire. I had emotional, touching stories: I had humorous stories: and I had serious stories. Over time. I knew exactly when to insert one of these to move my audience in the direction I chose. These stories always served a point or lesson that the audience would receive well and bring them into the present moment. It allowed the audience to relate to me as a person instead of the speaker. Telling a humbling story makes you more real to your audience. Also, you must have at least two testimonials in your talk, one up front and one toward the end. A montage is a great way to present this because.... Action By now you should understand your presentation is not about you. but about them. They arc sitting in front of you anticipating you arc going to share what's in it for them. They arc not interested in how smart, witty or intelligent you arc. They are not interested in any of your technical jargon. They arc attending your talk because they believe you might have a solution to their challcnge(s). It's fair to say your audience is looking for the right opportunity. Recognizing this, you must lead them to the opportunity and make it very clear exactly what you want them to do. This call to action, or CTA. must be precise, to the point and have clear boundaries. This means knowing when to take action how to take action and the requirements of taking action. An effective speaker will have several points in a talk where they refer to the necessity of action prior to their close. Getting an audience to participate by show ing their commitment to action (raising their hands in agreement to show tliat they arc willing) is also a very powerful tool to use prior to the actual close. And finally, be confident in your close. Remember what your intention was prior to your talk. They came to see the show and they came looking fora confident, passionate leader that is walking the walk. They're asking to be closed. Don't disappoint them. Charles Webb is the cofounder of Freedom Practice Coaching, a full-service practice-consulting group that focuses primarily on healthcare professionals seeking to increase growth and profits in their current practices or build a cash-based, wellness component to their praclices. Learn more at www.freedompraclicecoaching.com
