What does your audience see when you speak?

Public speaking is all about getting a message across … speaking.

OK, that being said, let’s step back and away from that for a moment and think about it differently. Think about it as you would a television show or movie with the sound off. What do you see? What does your audience see when you are speaking (with the sound off)?

Look at your clothes. What do they say about you? Yes I know we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but we do. Everyone does. Audiences do. So what do your clothes say about you? Is that the message you wanted them to convey? The message the audience gets from your clothes needs to support the impact you want to make.

On the other hand, are your clothes making their own statement? Do they stand out so much that they are more interesting than your words or message?

What the audience sees needs to reinforce your message and both need to work together to create the impact you decided you wanted. You did choose an impact, didn’t you? You didn’t want to just leave it to chance, did you?

So when you are rehearsing and preparing your speech or presentation by visualising the whole process being a success … include in the picture what you will look like. Imagine what the audience response is to what you look like. Run a mind movie of what you look like when you walk onto the stage or to the front of the room. What are they expecting to be in the book that is you when they see its cover? What are they thinking. Look into their minds. Read their faces. Is that what you wanted? If it’s not, then adapt the picture accordingly. Change the mind movie until you know that the way you look is going to get the response from the audience that you want. Then you will be thoroughly prepared to create the impact of your choice.