How do you know if your speech is great?

Posted on July 25, 2005
Filed Under Articles, Speakers, Success Tips

How do you know
if your speech is great?

by Jane Atkinson

Jane Atkinson - Business Coach, Consultant Sometimes when you’ve been working the same speech
material for awhile, you slip into a nice
comfortable place. So how do you know if your
speech is really, really good?

Many speakers use evaluations, and they average
5 smiley faces out of 6, so that’s pretty
good, right? Plus, people line up at the end of
the program to say, “thanks, that was awesome!”

“Awesome” is pretty good right?

A speaker friend of mine sat at the back of a
meeting room waiting for his turn to speak. They
were taking a short break, and then the speaker
before him would wrap up. He went into the
washroom and heard two guys complaining that the
material was fairly outdated, and that they
weren’t overly impressed. The meeting resumed and
the speaker finished his talk. The two guys from
the washroom were the first two in line to say to
the speaker, “hey, great job, thanks so much.”

So what does this tell us? Use evaluations and
comments from the audience to build confidence,
but DO NOT take that to mean that you are really
great.

THE #1 WAY TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GOOD IS WHEN PEOPLE
HAND YOU THEIR BUSINESS CARD AFTER THE SPEECH AND
SAY, “I’VE GOT A GROUP THAT NEEDS TO HEAR YOUR
MESSAGE.”

If you are not getting an average of 2-3 spin offs
from each speaking engagement, then you need to go
back to work on the speech. Find yourself some
books, CD’s, coaching, training, whatever it
takes. Continually “sharpen the saw” and it will
pay off for you in the ultimate reward… spin
off.

Jane Atkinson, President of Speaker Launcher, is a former agent and business coach specializing in professional speakers. For more information, call 519-951-6934, or go to www.speakerlauncher.com