3 Questions You Must Answer About Your Passion for Public Speaking

By Susan Trivers

You feel lucky to have speaking opportunities because you're passionate about your area of expertise and want to share it with everyone.

Your personal passion isn't justification for your speech. Your passion for your subject is a critical and welcome element in the mix of components needed for a speech or presentation. However, the only reason you ask people to give you their time and attention is because what you say will help them do something they otherwise wouldn't or couldn't do. The Return on Investment for the audience must be high.

Answer these 3 questions to determine if your passion translates into a presentation that benefits the audience:

1) What will the audience members do after they listen to you that they wouldn't or couldn't have done before your speech? The answer must be quantitative.

Here are some possibilities:

· Increase sales by X dollars;

· Improve customer retention by X%;

· Reduce turnover;

· Get a promotion in less than 6 months;

· Add a demonstrable and valuable new skill to their skill set;

· Become more productive as proved by number of projects completed in a period of time.

2) What do you offer that is clearly different from others in your area of expertise? Do you take some risks to deliver a message that is truly unique? Can you prove this by making a list of the top three ideas typically expounded in your area and describing how your ideas differ? You must also then be able to articulate the benefits of your unique ideas.

3) How skillful are you in the delivery of your presentation? Unique ideas that could generate a high return on investment will fall flat unless your platform skills are also exceptional. If you follow the conventions of everyone else in your company or organization or industry, you'll be abandoning the very passion that got you started speaking in the first place.

Groups want people to conform--that's what gives the group its value. Memorable business speakers get mentoring and coaching from people outside their own organization, industry or peer group. You must get away from the group in order to deliver your passion and expertise in a way that Puts the Audience First.

Susan G. Trivers, MBA is a consummate presentation skills coach with hundreds of confident, creative clients who have learned how to engage their audiences. Start with Susan's two fundamental principles: Put the Audience First and Be Yourself, Polished. Add effective leading (not supporting) materials to your key points, craft excellent stories, and add engagement activities and you'll raise your career profile.

The Red-Hot Guide to COOL Speaking - Craft and Deliver presentations that are Creative, Original, Outsized & Liberated is Susan's easy-to-use, apply-it-now e-book that answers all your questions about standing out when you're standing up in front of an audience. Available at http://www.susantrivers.com/store.php Questions are always cheerfully answered at susan@susantrivers.com

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