Delivering an epic keynote is not as easy as it looks. If you want to get to Ted or TEDx quality here are the must haves.
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Know Your Purpose:
If you’re going to hold an audience’s attention you MUST fully understand your purpose… your calling… what gets YOU out of bed in the morning. If you don’t, then you will be delivering a speech. People don’t want to hear a speech. If you know your purpose, you can speak from the heart with no notes.
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Be Passionate:
Your energy, and your passion are contagious! People are sitting in the audience because they want an experience, not just a talking head. They want to feel something. If they just wanted to hear something then they could have downloaded a podcast.
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Connect With Your Audience:
You may know a lot, but if you don’t form an emotional connection with your audience, it just doesn’t matter! They will tune out. It’s all about respecting your audience, and understanding that you are there to serve them.
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Tell Stories:
Storytelling is the most effective way to connect with your audience and take them on a journey in a memorable way.
“The world is not made of atoms,” said poet, Muriel Rukyser. “It’s made of stories.”
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Have a Sense of Humor:
Your audience wants to be entertained, and they want to have fun. Don’t be so serious that you can’t find the humour in life!
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Be Visual:
A picture really is worth a thousand words. If you want to spark people’s imagination, use images more than words. The root of the word imagination is image!
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Have Confidence:
The word “confidence” comes from the Latin “con-fide” — meaning “to have faith.” Have faith in yourself! Get in touch with the passionate person inside of you, and let that person speak.
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Less is More:
Keep it simple. Or, as one wise person put it, “Minimize your jargon footprint.”
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Celebrate the Positive:
Feature the “bright spots”. Share victories, best practices, and lessons learned. Save the bitching, and moaning for your therapist.
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Walk the Talk:
Good presenters move around the stage — as in, walking the talk. Don’t hide behind the podium and read from your notes, the teleprompter or the screen! People want to be inspired by you. Reading to them will not cut it!