subject: Utilising your Personality as a Professional Speaker [print this page] Projecting your personality is an essential tool of anybody who speaks regularly in public.
Without personality, your speech will be as dull as dish water. When you leave your personality at the door, you make it hard for your audience to warm to you. The audience must buy into you before they buy into your message. When you see somebody exuding confidence and personality in their speech in front of a small or large group, it's as if they own the room. Many people with a fear of public speaking can only dream of that kind of presence.
However, when you address a large group, you do almost subconsciously become the alter ego of yourself. Liaising with so many people at once isn't easy, but when you positively connect with so many people simultaneously, it is a cathartic experience. One that you will choose to replicate many, many times over your speaking career. If you have a great message and you deliver it consistently well, you will be invited back time after time. It really boosts your confidence and when your audience see your name on the future programme, it gives them something to look forward to.
I have noticed over many years of speaking some subtle changes in myself and my demeanour. As a professional speaker and trainer, I become increasingly focused on my group or audience leading up to the event.
I remember some years ago travelling to Canterbury to be lead judge in a speaking contest. Some friends lived there and so I took my wife and daughter along to drop them off while I attended the event. Unfortunately, my daughter was sick in the car and screamed for the best part of sixty miles throughout the journey. I arrived in somewhat stressful circumstances two minutes before the event was scheduled to start. During the journey, I was rightly concerned that I was going to be late and my daughter's screaming was quite unsettling. However, the moment I arrived at the venue, I became immediately calm and focused and was delighted to see so many smiling and friendly faces. I had forgotten the awful journey and I was ready to perform my duties with an air of calm assurance.
Am I a Jekyll and Hyde personality? No, I don't think so. Just one of professional conditioning acquired over many years.
I actually alluded to the journey a few times in my final summary and indeed often use it now as an anecdote when coaching and mentoring executives embarking on their speaking careers.
