Public Speaking in a Business Setting

Video Transcript

"Hello! My name is Scott. I am the name tag guy from hellomynameisscott.com, on behalf of Expert Village. We are here to learn about public speaking. In today’s episode, we are going to talk about speaking in a business setting. Now before you give a speech, no matter what kind of audience you are working with, there are four key questions you got to ask both yourself, or possibly whoever booked you for the program.

Question #1 If everybody did exactly what I said, what will the world look like? I know that is a big question, but it gives you a framework based on expectation. So once you get the answer to this question, just be sure the rest of your speech… all of the supporting points give your audience the tools to build that world.

Question #2 What are the some of the key words or phrases used in your audiences’ lexicon? May be they are accountants or mechanics, find out the key points in their vocabulary, find out ahead of time and when you use them in your speech, you sound like you are one of them. That truly connects to an audience.

Question #3 What is the dress code? Now you can see I am dressed very casually today. But, it depends, because some speakers will say, you got to be the best dressed person in the room, while the others say, be relaxed, be your style. Whether or not you want to wear a tie is up to you, but you make the call in the dress code.

Question #4 And this is absolutely crucial. You got to ask the person who is in charge, “What is the one thing I could say that would absolutely offend everybody?” I learned this a long time ago, and it is important to ask, find out ahead a time, what the hot buttons are? Make sure you do not accidentally suffer from foot in the mouth disease. These crucial elements will allow you in every time you give a speech to a business audience to connect like a pro. "