Captivate my audience

There is an unlimited amount of information in the world. Whenever I come across useful information, I asked if I can convert them to knowledge. If I can, how do I go about doing it? One proven way is by reciting it and reapplying it. Today, I saw an article on how I can captivate my audience. Here are 3 points on how I can keep you engaged as I speak:

1. Craft a take-away line

When someone can't make it to a speaker's session, he will ask others who were there this question: "What did the speaker talk about?" What they say you said is your take-away line. You would like people to walk out with that nugget.

What I have learnt: People might have a different take-away from what I've intended. But I have deliberately inserted 3 morals from my toastmasters' journey and a summary at the end of my speech. But take-away lines are important as they add value to the audience.

2. Write for the ear, not the eye

Experienced writers know that every medium and project has its own language, cadence, style and structure. Don't write the speech to be read. You need to write your speech so that when people hear it, they get the message.

What I have learnt: I am a dynamic speaker who adds a flavouring of vocal variety into my speech. As such, I always re-read my script thrice so that it sounds nice, with a tinge of spice.

3. Make rough drafts first and polish later

Don't needlessly pressure yourself by trying to write the perfect speech at the outset. The best speeches come only after many many re-writes.

What I have learnt: This is an Achilles' heel I need to work on. I have the material in my mind, but writing it down is something I never liked. Procrastination and perfectionism took the better of my life. I need the spark to get myself alive and to learn that writing it down is akin to having the fuel that lights up the fire.