[mk_page_section bg_image=”https://augpl.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/main-4.jpg” bg_position=”center center” bg_stretch=”true” enable_3d=”true” speed_factor=”1″ min_height=”600″ full_width=”true” padding_top=”0″ padding_bottom=”0″ skip_arrow=”true” sidebar=”sidebar-1″][/mk_page_section][mk_fancy_title tag_name=”h1″ color=”#ffffff” size=”44″ font_weight=”900″ margin_bottom=”10″ font_family=”none” align=”center”]Speaking with confidence[/mk_fancy_title][mk_fancy_title tag_name=”span” size=”21″ line_height=”140″ font_weight=”600″ font_style=”normal” font_family=”none”]A well delivered, expertly crafted spoken message can run goosebumps up and down your arms, while a poorly delivered, jumbled spoken message can cause the listener’s tummy to twist into knots and experience as much embarrassment as the person delivering it. This is the power of the spoken word – that there is an immediate connection between the one delivering the message and the one hearing it.[/mk_fancy_title]WORDS: CHARLOTTE KEMP[mk_dropcaps style=”fancy-style” size=”40″ padding=”20″ background_color=”#d61d28″ text_color=”#ffffff”]S[/mk_dropcaps]So how do we craft a message that will create that positive resonance, that will stir people to respond the way that we hope they will.[mk_image src=”https://augpl.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/audience.jpg” image_size=”full”][mk_fancy_title tag_name=”h4″ size=”28″ font_weight=”900″ font_style=”normal” margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”none”]Be sincere about your message[/mk_fancy_title]Authenticity is communicated so strongly through our speaking that an insincere message, a lie, or manipulation shouts louder than our words ever could. A sincere message also excuses many flaws in our delivery. [mk_fancy_title tag_name=”h4″ size=”28″ font_weight=”900″ font_style=”normal” margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”none”]Believe in your message[/mk_fancy_title]We don’t want to waste time with our speaking so when we speak we need to believe that the message is important enough to exchange our time, and our audiences’ time in sharing it. If the message is worth sharing, then we can have confidence in it. [mk_image src=”https://augpl.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/conference.jpg” image_size=”full”][mk_fancy_title tag_name=”h4″ size=”28″ font_weight=”900″ font_style=”normal” margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”none”]The audience is our partner in the communication[/mk_fancy_title]Old fashioned speaking advice included imagining your audience naked to give you a sense of power over them to stimulate a false confidence. On the rare occasion that I have remembered that advice and accidentally had a mental picture of a naked audience, well, confidence was not the emotion that was generated. [mk_image src=”https://augpl.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/charlotte-kemp-1-1.jpg” image_size=”full”][mk_image src=”https://augpl.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/public-speaking.jpg” image_size=”full”][mk_fancy_title tag_name=”h4″ size=”28″ font_weight=”900″ font_style=”normal” margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”none”]Make your message simple[/mk_fancy_title]There are so many ways to deliver communication to an audience, but it’s a mistake to believe that a spoken message should be packed with tonnes of information or data. The more complex the message, the more data it contains, the less likely that the audience will be able to recall it or even act on it. A simple, concise message, with relevant examples, will land better and be remembered longer. And of course it means that you can have more confidence that you can remember what you need to say.
These are the fundamentals of confident speaking: believing that we have an important, simple message that we truly want to share with a receptive audience. Only once we have these elements in place can we start to work on the techniques to deliver better.
I have watched and delivered hundreds of speeches over the course of my career, and the ones that stay with me are not those that were flashy, polished, or slick. The messages that stayed with me are where the speaker shared something sincerely, and of value, right to my heart. Those were the speakers who spoke with real confidence. Our Contributor:
Charlotte Kemp is the Immediate Past President of the Professional
Speakers Association of Southern Africa and Vice President of the
Global Speakers Federation.
www.charlottekemp.co.za
