How to Become an Influential Speaker

If you've ever attended a conference or event, watched a YouTube video, or listened to a TED talk, you know that certain things work for some people. While you may not be able to duplicate exactly what they do, you can emulate some of their strategies by learning why they work and incorporating similar methodologies into your own presentations. Here are a few things you can do to become an influential speaker.

Find your niche

How can you become an influential speaker? What is your area of expertise? What type of audience are you targeting? There are several ways to influence your audience. Here are some strategies to get started. You can even start a blog. Here are some examples of blogs and social media accounts where you can become an influential speaker:

The first step is to choose a niche. Many people spend years researching and perfecting their topic. They then spend weeks or months crafting their talk, perfecting their opening line and sequence of points. They practiced pauses after jokes, using media to engage their audience, and preparing slides that contain compelling quotes and stories. Once they've honed their content, they can deliver their speech with ease.

Once you've narrowed down your topic, it's time to find your speaking niche. Focusing on a specific audience will help you secure speaking engagements. Try asking yourself 21 questions to help you identify your speaking niche. Ask yourself: What is it about my area of expertise that inspires me? What do I love doing? What do I know a lot about? What motivates me to speak? These are the questions you need to answer before you begin focusing your speaking career.

Build your audience's trust. You'll need to build relationships with people in your niche in order to gain influence and popularity. Guest blogging allows you to introduce yourself to a new audience and build relationships. This also increases your authority. Eventually, you'll be featured on their websites, in their podcasts, or in their own blog. Ultimately, it's a win-win situation. All of these strategies will help you build an influential audience.

Create a demo video

One of the first steps in becoming an influential speaker is to create a demo video. A demo video should capture the attention of the viewer and showcase how much value you can add when speaking. A powerful snippet from your best talks can be very effective. It also helps if the video is professionally recorded. Ensure that it is in high-quality, with good audio quality and light video quality. This way, you will be able to view it on a computer with good color correction and sharpness.

When deciding how to present your demo video, keep in mind the target audience. For instance, a technical audience may want to see more detail, while a more general audience might prefer to see you at the top level. A fast-paced edit is more likely to attract younger viewers than an older audience, but a slow, measured pace is more likely to attract older viewers. For best results, use a combination of both.

Another method for creating a successful demo video is to use the Camtasia software. It has several built-in tools to help you create an effective demo video. A good example is Camtasia Studio, which is available for Windows and Mac users. It makes recording easy, since it also has screen capture and voiceover features. It also works on other platforms. To learn more about Camtasia, visit Michael Port's website.

Apply for speaking gigs

Whether you're a seasoned professional with years of experience or a budding entrepreneur just looking for your first speaking gig, you must have the passion for sharing your message. To be successful in this industry, you must be willing to pay your dues and endure tough times. It's imperative that you have a compelling reason to speak. Here are some tips to help you land your first speaking gig.

Be active on social media. Make sure to have a professional-looking profile on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Make sure to follow best practices for professional profiles, including a professional lobby and a well-designed website. Once you have a speaking page, start approaching venues in your area that regularly host speakers. Contact local venues and promote your books online. Apply for speaking gigs to become an influential speaker

Consider writing a book about your topic. Even if you haven't published a book yet, your ideas and messages can serve as powerful pitches to various organizations. While your first speaking gig may not be as large as a Ted Talk, keep applying for small gigs and working your way up. Each event you do will add to your resume. You'll be surprised at the number of opportunities that are out there.

Tell your story

One of the most effective ways to become an influential speaker is to start by preparing your speech. You can also ask friends and family to provide you with feedback on your story. Regardless of whether you have experience speaking or not, storytelling is a powerful tool to use in business and in personal life. As a result, it is essential to practice if you want to improve your skills. However, the reward you will gain in the end is a much larger audience and higher visibility.

When giving a speech, the best stories are those that start with your own personal experiences. Stories that begin with an aha moment or a failure are often the most effective. They are often more impactful than stories that are drawn from a book. As a result, many people feel connected to these stories. If you aren't sure which story to share, brainstorm ideas for your talk by thinking about your experiences.

Then, develop a presentation package that will give you a chance to tell your story in the most impactful way. When presenting your speech, you need to be aware of how you pace yourself. You should speak slowly so that your audience can understand your story without becoming overwhelmed. Remember to include natural breaks in your speech. Another tip is to practice your speech on a friend before delivering it to an audience.

Be passionate about your message

Be passionate about your message and be willing to share your heart. An audience is drawn to someone who is passionate about what they have to say. Passion is an element of content, not technique. It is hard to get across your message without emotion. If you want to become an influential speaker, you need to be passionate about your topic and have an empowering message for your audience. Below are a few tips to become a powerful speaker.

o Be passionate about your message. Passionate speakers make their audiences listen. They can sense their audience's enthusiasm through body language, voice, and presence. If you don't have passion, your audience will sense it in your voice and may even be distracted by their mobile phones. You must project confidence when speaking in front of an audience and make sure they believe you know your subject inside and out. Be true to yourself on stage, and show that you know what you're talking about.

o Know what you're talking about. Find a topic that you feel passionate about. Find a subject that you have a background in or feel passionate about. Your audience will be drawn to your passion, and you will come across as more convincing. In addition, be sure to choose topics that you're knowledgeable about. This will give you more credibility. Once you have a topic that you're passionate about, you can begin practicing it.

Be a good listener

One of the first things you need to learn to be a more effective speaker is to become a good listener. Listening carefully can help you uncover key assumptions and gaps in understanding. Keep in mind that most communication occurs non-verbally, so be attentive to the cadence of a speaker's voice, facial expressions, and tone of voice. This will allow you to better understand a speaker's points of view and make them more compelling to listen to.

Be a good listener to become an influencer. Often, intelligent people lack empathetic listening skills. In fact, some leaders set the pace of a conversation and change topics at every turn. But even high achievers can lack empathy. While most people know that listening skills are crucial to being an effective speaker, most of us don't practice them. As a result, we end up being ineffective communicators and fail to get the job done.

Another essential trait of an influential speaker is to be a good listener. As a good listener, you must allow the speaker to complete their thought without interrupting. Interrupting people makes them feel that they haven't heard them and don't really care about what they have to say. Make sure to wait until the other person has finished talking before answering. If you feel the need to add your perspective, don't.