Image Credit: Anthony Easton
So here is an awkward question for you to consider: why will you be giving your next speech? What motivated you to agree to give it? Were you picked to give the speech and really didn’t have any say in the matter? Or did you volunteer to give it? If you want to do a good job of giving your next speech, you are going to have to understand why you are giving it. Just to make things a bit trickier, there is one more question that you are going to have to answer before you take the stage.
The Most Important Question
Every time that we give a speech, we need to care about what we are talking about. If we don’t then our audience will be able to pick up on that and we are not going to be able to connect with them. If we do this right, we should be able to use the importance of public speaking to bring some real passion to our speech. However, before we are going to be able to do that, we need to be able to answer the simple question “why me?”
Although this question may appear to be simple on the surface, it actually runs quite deep. You need to understand that you are NOT asking why you are qualified to give this speech. You are also not asking what your official title is that permits you to give this speech is. Rather, what you are doing is to try to unlock what we like to call your authentic voice. If you can answer this question, then you will have found a way to boost your confidence and you may just be able to engage your audience in your next speech.
The answer to your “why me” question needs to come from a sense of purpose that you have that relates to why you spend your time doing what you do. If you give it some real thought, then you should be able to come up with an answer that will explain why you got you involved in your current job and why you have chosen to stay there. If you are proud of what you do, then this can be a key part of your answer.
The Power Of Knowing Where Your Passion Comes From
Where the answer to your “why me” question comes from can be very important. Often our answers are somehow deeply rooted in our family or in our childhood. As speakers, we may feel a bit awkward sharing this kind of information in a speech. However, we need to keep in mind that we are real people who are talking with real people. We need to understand that we are driven by our personal motivations. It is by sharing things like this in our next speech that we will be able to connect with our audience. This kind of connection with them can help to build trust and with that trust, the message of your speech will be better received.
Once you have identified what the answer to your “why me” question is, you then need to determine where in your speech you will want to add this information. Research has shown that one of the best places to put it is at the beginning of your speech. The reason that you might want to place it here is because as you share your answer to this question with your audience, you will be reminded about why you are there giving the speech. At the same time, sharing this kind of information with your audience will cause your audience to believe that you really understand who they are.
If you get stuck as you search for an answer to your “why me” question, you can ask yourself three questions. Start off with trying to determine why you might care about your audience or the event that you will be speaking at. Next, ask yourself why you care about the subject that you will be talking about. Finally, ask yourself what it is about your work that makes you the most proud? If you can create an answer to this questions, then you will be able to have a sense of purpose in all of your speeches.
What All Of This Means For You
As speakers our goal is always to find a way to use the benefits of public speaking to connect with our audience so that we can get them involved in the message of our speech. This is never an easy thing to do. In order to make this happen, we need to be able to answer one very important questions: why me?
This simple question can be difficult for many speakers to correctly answer. This question is designed to allow you to find your authentic voice and be able to engage your audience in your next speech. Your answer has to come from a sense of purpose that you have. Including the answer to this question in your next speech is important in order to connect with your audience. When you are trying to determine where in your speech to place your answer to your why me question, consider placing it at the beginning. If you get struck in coming up with an answer, there are three questions that you can ask yourself to find what you need.
Knowing ourselves is the key to being able to give good speeches. If we can take the time to find the answer to the why me question, then we will have found what really motivates us. If we can share this with our next audience, then we may have found a way to truly connect with them. Ultimately, this is exactly what we are all trying to do each time that we give a speech.
– Dr. Jim Anderson
Blue Elephant Consulting –
Your Source For Real World Public Speaking Skills™
Question For You: How long do you think that the answer to your why me question should be?
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Note: What we talked about are advanced speaking skills. If you are just starting out I highly recommend joining Toastmasters in order to get the benefits of public speaking. Look for a Toastmasters club to join in your home town by visiting the web site www.Toastmasters.org. Toastmasters is dedicated to helping their members to understand the importance of public speaking by developing listening skills and getting presentation tips. Toastmasters is how I got started speaking and it can help you also!