Handy Speaking Tips from Arvee Robinson

I have to admit, I’m a big fan of Arvee Robinson. She has the coolest voice and a really fun personality. She’s also very knowledgeable and giving of her knowledge. Like Lee, she provided a wealth of information at the Market Your Way to Wealth event in April. Here are just a few of the golden nuggets of information she passed along.

Need to look at your notes while giving a presentation? Keep a glass or bottle of water by your notes. Then you can casually take a sip and sneak a peak at your notes at the same time.

Got handouts? Give them out after your personal story. You want your audience to be listening to you, not looking through the handouts. And always include your picture on the handouts so when they take them home, they can remember who gave the presentation better.

Are you pitching back-of-the-room sales? Don’t use handouts … they can hurt your sales. Hand things out at the end of the presentation if you must.

Give a gift to get leads. Midway through your presentation, show the audience the gift you will be giving out to one lucky member. Have someone gather up their business cards and tell the audience that if they don’t want to be added to your list to fold their card in half. Choose a person from the audience to select the winner and announce them. When you give the winner the prize, tag their business card so you’ll know who was the winner when you follow up.

Set a goal when you are getting started. Pick how many times per week you want to speak then start booking those gigs. The goal will help you manage your time, attract the engagements you want and motivate you to do what you need to do to succeed.

The three biggest mistakes new speakers make are:

• No opening. You need a catchy lead for your speech, just as you would for a piece of writing.
• No stories. Remember what Lee said about interesting vs. boring writing? Well, it applies to speaking, as well. People are just hard-wired to listen to stories.
• No call to action. You’re giving your speech for a reason, right? To get new business. Well, then tell the audience what you want them to do!