How to Captivate Your Audience with an Excellent Business Speech

Speeches have a lot in common with good storytelling. A good storyteller captivates his audience with a story. A good speaker captivates his business audience with a good speech. In the world of business, speeches are the art of telling a persuasive, yet informative and entertaining story. The craft is in the writing and the art is in the storytelling. Watch good storytellers and watch for the elements of good storytelling. What is it that you like about their performance? What elements do you think work well and that also suit your style and delivery of a good story? Aren't those also elements of good salesmanship? Business people give speeches to motivate members of their audience as well as to inform and entertain them. Business people do not attend a conference and attend the keynote speech just to be entertained. They expect to get something out of the speech as well. They expect information and motivation that will improve their sales skills or other skills important to business.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. e clear on the answers to these 3 key questions as you prepare "your story" or speech for a business audience:
   1)Who is my audience?
   2)Why am I giving this speech?
   3)What do I expect to accomplish in my speech?
   
   Your answers to these questions will guide you through the process of preparing and delivering your business message.
2. As a speech writer or speaker, you will assemble your skills to deliver your unique insight into some aspect of business, whether it is finance, banking, investments, or sales. Good storytelling is powerful and can motivate people as well as entertain them. Your influence as a speaker is powerful. It is your words, body language, facial expressions, and interpretations that can take a hum-drum speech and make it meaningful to your target audiences.
   
   Here are some ways to make the most of your business storytelling:
   Incorporate an effective, purposeful story into your speech.-
   Select stories that are a good match for your storytelling skills. Be selective in your choice of stories and then put yourself into the mix by practicing your delivery so that it is woven into the purpose or objective of your speech.
3. Be convincing that you are the best person to deliver this speech. -
4. Demonstrate your experience and expertise through the course of your story. Mention your background or reason for being there, but show them, don't just tell them. Be careful though that your impressing them with your experience doesn't come off

Tips & Warnings

• Videotape yourself giving your business presentation, so that you can observe yourself and make needed corrections to your speech or the way in which you present it.