How to Captivate Your Audience When You Speak in Public

You could say the most amazing words, within a speech packed full of interesting information and entertaining anecdotes.

But none of that will matter if you deliver it in a small voice while looking down at your shoes. To give an inspirational speech, you have to believe what you are saying. Only then can you truly have an impact on your audience. So stand up straight, look at the faces of your listeners and speak to them clearly, confidently and with authority.

These are the qualities of an effective speaker, and, as American poet William Carlos Williams said, “It’s not what you say that matters but the manner in which you say it; there lies the secret of the ages.”

Your speech will also leave a more lasting impression if you dress in a way that communicates to the audience how you want to be perceived. Therefore, if you want to come across as formal, but still approachable, consider a jacket paired with a shirt with an open collar, or even a t-shirt.

And, whatever you do, do not apologise for the ideas you express during your presentation. One big mistake nervous speakers often make is saying things like ‘It’s just my opinion,’ or ‘I’m not really sure,’ or ‘I could be wrong.’ These sentiments significantly weaken your message and reduce your chances of having the desired impact on your audience.

Throughout history, public speakers have used rhetoric to impress their audiences. Aristotle, one of the most renowned philosophers of all time, was one of the founding fathers of communication theory.

The legendary Greek figure believed that the best way for anyone to improve their communication skills was to master three key areas: ethos, logos and pathos.

Ethos is all about establishing your credentials. If you can convince your audience that you are sufficiently knowledgeable about your subject matter and that you have their best interests at heart, they will be interested in what you say and you will have a much greater chance of persuading them to take action.

Once you have convinced the audience of your trustworthiness, it is time to appeal to their sense of reason. This is the essence of logos, which is the origin of the word ‘logic’, and you can do this by using facts, statistics and advanced, theoretical or abstract language that improves their understanding of your topic.

The third element of a persuasive speech, pathos, is by far the most important. According to research done on TED talks, it made up approximately 65% of the most effective presentations.

That means you need to spend plenty of time and energy appealing to your audience’s emotions. You have to find ways to make them feel things. You could tell a joke to make them laugh, tell a story that makes them feel sympathy towards you or someone else, or describe an unjust situation that makes your listeners angry. However you set about achieving it, evoking emotions in your audience is a critical skill to learn on your road to becoming a powerful public speaker.

If you walk onto a stage and deliver one long speech without highlighting the most important parts and indicating when you are moving onto a different topic, then your audience will almost certainly get bored, switch off and remember very little of what you said.

To avoid this scenario, divide your speech into three clearly defined sections and tell the audience when you are moving to the next one. You can use your slides to indicate this too. By breaking down your message and giving your listeners actionable takeaways, you are making it easier for them to understand and it is more likely they will remember your speech and act on your advice.

As American writer Dale Carnegie once said, we are not creatures of logic. We are creatures of emotion. So demonstrate your passion to your audience. And, most importantly, tell them stories, because stories are by far the best way to connect with people.

According to neuroscience, facts and figures activate just two areas of the brain: language comprehension and processing. But stories activate up to eight: touch, movement, scent, sound, colour, and shape, in addition to language comprehension and processing. This implies that the listener’s brain responds to the events of the story events as if they were actually happening to them.

If you are sceptical about this, think about why you cry while watching a movie, even though logic tells you that the story and characters are fictional.