Last night I had a conversation with one of my mentors Darren LaCroix. During our conversation, we talked about what separates a good speaker from a great speaker. Guess what, it isn’t platform skills but your intention when you are speaking.

This is a tough lesson for me to wrap my brain around. When I am on the platform, I want to blow the audience away with my speaking skills, but guess what…that skill is second to connecting with your audience. It is what is killing me this contest season. I am spending so much time working on my speech, that I forgot the most important part…the audience.

When you are speaking, you have to remember that you are not there for you. As a speaker you have a commitment to the audience and making sure they leave with some tangible value added to their lives. Whether you made them laugh, cry, or ponder their current life, you have to add some value that makes you remarkable and memorable.

So as you are working on your next speech, think about what is in it for the audience. If there is only you, then look to your life, find a message in a story, and give them something to take home with them. It is the best way to connect and be remembered and repeated.

So what are your thoughts? What is your intention?

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