What’s the first “P” of public speaking?
Posted on 21st March 2020 at 10:30
The first 'P' of public speaking is passion. I’m not referring to lust in the bedroom, although, of course, you could be talking about this! What I am speaking about is your feelings about the subject you are talking about. The more you speak from the heart, the more you can persuade your audience to believe or do what you want them to.
When you genuinely care about what you are saying it will come across in your tone of voice and your body language. So, even if you are not a technically brilliant speaker if you speak with passion you have a fantastic chance of influencing your audience. I have watched Jamie Olivier speak to American policy makers about healthy meals and despite him having a slight lisp, his talk was very inspiring as it was from the heart.
So, if you are a business owner it is likely you are passionate about your business, otherwise you wouldn't be doing it. What if you are doing a business presentation on what you consider, or you think your audience may believe to be a dry subject, such as tax or finance how do you find the passion there? Remember you are not just giving out information, otherwise a report would do. You need to find the meaning behind the facts. What difference will your idea, product, invention or service make to the lives of the people you are talking to. For example, if you were talking about wills, you don’t really need to get into the details of the products, but the consequences for people and their families if they don’t have one and the advantages of having one.
Lead from the heart, even if you consider your subject to be a dry, technical or dull and you’ll be able to reach your audience. Passion wins over perfectionism every time.
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