How to Make an Impactful Speech

You don’t have to speak in front of a group of men and women in business suits to justify that an impactful speech is necessary.  A speech whether spoken to a crowd or to an individual needs to have an impact because we should not be wasting the opportunity to improve our business or make a mark on someone.  Your speaking skill will enable you to get more clients, close more deals, sell more products, and help someone.

It doesn’t matter if your business is not related to coaching; you need to brush up on your speaking skills or your every day speech to improve your business. Improving your speaking skills will help you in your every day communication to your customers, colleagues, and employees.

Tell a story.

Making an impactful speech is not difficult; all you have to do is to tell a story. You catch the audience attention with a story. Telling a story will also make it easy for your audience to remember what you said, believe what you said, and learn from what you said. Studies show that people believe stories more readily than numbers or statistics. The audience process stories intellectually, emotionally, and visually (visual aids and the speaker’s movements). To make an impactful speech, start with a story followed by some statistics and visual aids to emphasize your point.  

Focus on the “Who” or the people in your story.

People (your audience) are interested in other people. Tell stories about people, particularly heroes. When I say heroes, I don’t just mean the famous people but rather look internally and externally in your company for the stories of your own everyday common heroes that your audience personally know and can relate with.

Create suspense in your story.

Suspense will keep your audience attentive. Suspend your story; make your audience guess the outcome of the story.

Crack a joke.

You need some practice to be successful in cracking a joke. You must know when to inject the joke in your speech to make it effective. Otherwise, the joke could be on you.

Make your audience experience your story.
Describe the scene. Make them smell, feel, and taste your story. Smell and other sensory words also trigger the formation of memory. Sensory words and your actions (movements) will help them experience your story.

Use quotations or twist a phrase.

People identify with quotations; they even memorize the quotes that have an impact in their life. However, do not use very long quotes or you will lose its impact. Paraphrase quotes that are longer than two lines. Your speech will be more memorable and impactful when you twist a phrase. The billionaire, Warren Buffet said when asked why he consistently hires retirement-age managers rather than young ones, “You can’t teach young dog old tricks.”

Use alliteration, repetition, and rhythm when making a speech.

Alliterations make for more descriptive sentences apart from making it sound nice. For example, "My exhaustion from an hour hike under the heat of the sun was quenched when I spotted the babbling brook." Choose to repeat some words in your speech to emphasize a point. Rhythm can also be used to help your audience understand better and ward off boredom.

When you use statistics, choose startling numbers.

Don’t just say, “There are 2,035 people in this village that sleep without food”.  Rather say “99% of the villagers starve”. Use statistics sparingly to make an impact.

Every day, we make a speech. Use your speech to impact your business and other people.