When was the last time you spoke for an audience and just knew you were connecting? You were completely present and having fun, and you could see they were engaged and taking in every minute. More than that, you felt an impalpable presence with your audience. You were having a moment.

 

This is a great experience, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be great to create that every time you speak?

You might automatically think the way to accomplish this is to focus on the words you want to say, the message you want to convey, and the audience you want to engage. Yes, of course! And, that’s not all. Creating those experiences goes beyond that. It means speaking from your authentic voice. It means speaking from who you are at your core by knowing what your purpose is and being able and willing to express your deep caring for your audience.

One of the greatest examples I’ve seen of this happened years ago. I was attending a National Speakers Association annual conference. The keynote speaker was Nando Parrado, one of the 16 Uruguayan survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972. After spending two months trapped in the mountains with the other crash survivors, he, along with Roberto Canessa, climbed through the Andes mountains over a 10-day period to find help. In his 2006 book, Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home, Parrado described the experience.

What I most remember about sitting in his audience was his absolutely vulnerable and emotionally riveting telling of what happened. I don’t remember exactly how many of us were in the audience — hundreds for sure. You could hear audible crying as he shared the fear, pain and determination of the survivors as they watched their friends and family members die and knew they had to take extraordinary, courageous steps to survive. It was one of the most powerful keynotes I’ve ever experienced. After the event, we all lined up to buy his book and meet this incredibly brave soul.

Thankfully, few of us have experienced anything like this. Yet, we all have a story and we can all show up with vulnerability and emotion, if we are willing. We can all speak from our authentic voice and make a huge difference for our audience.

Here are a few pointers:

1. Know why you’re speaking. What do you care about? What is your commitment? What stand are you taking? Just knowing why you’re sharing your message and why it’s important to you and your audience will go a long way toward speaking from your authentic voice and connecting deeply with your audience. It’s your foundation — the ground on which you build your presentation.  You can’t borrow this from someone else. It must be yours.

2. Speak your truth. There is nothing more important. One of my commitments is I don’t speak about anything I don’t know myself — that I haven’t tried and either succeeded in or learned from. I don’t mean only intellectually, I mean experientially. In this way, I can speak to my audience with confidence and integrity, and they will more than likely receive my information from that same place. Resist trying to impress or please others. Trust that you have something valuable to say, that your message will be received, and that you have the ability to connect with your audience in a meaningful way.

3. Speak from your heart. Allow yourself to be vulnerable. It can be very scary to let your guard down and be human, and it is the magic. Even 10 percent more vulnerable will create a felt connection. This opens the door for your audience to experience themselves in a new way. Just like any artform, as a speaker, you can give your audience the most wonderful opportunity to feel.

If you’re feeling nervous, acknowledge your emotions. Take a few minutes to close your eyes. Become aware of your breathing, noticing the temperature of your breath as you slowly breathe in and out, listening for the sounds in the room, and feeling your feet firmly planted. You are using techniques to move out of your survival brain and into your much calmer sage brain. You are bringing yourself into the present. Then, remind yourself of your purpose and know you are completely sufficient to your cause.

4. Use your body. Your body is your vehicle of self-expression! Experiment with how you can use your hands to emphasize your points, make eye contact, and change your facial features and your voice to bring your stories to life! This fuels your nonverbal alignment and congruence with your words, which establishes your trustworthiness and believability.

And most importantly:

5. Bring the love. Love is your essential guide to speaking from your authentic voice.

There’s a saying in the speaking world (I believe I first heard this from Doug Stevenson): Prepare for the love of your audience, present from the love for yourself. Speak about what you love — find your connection with your core message so you can share it with conviction. Speak with love and share that love with your audience. Show them how deeply you care about them. Make this your
mission — to communicate how valuable and important they are to you and everyone they touch. Most of us have no idea how important we are to the world. We have no idea of the power of our presence — of our authentic voice.

Fred Rogers has said: “If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet, how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.”

Learn how to release yourself to speak from that love — from your authentic voice — and you’ll have more of those amazing experiences. How much fun is that?!

I would love to support you! I can be reached at Andrea@AndreaBeaulieu.com.