Speaking Tips for Florida Attorneys: November 2020

Chris Anderson: TED’s Secret to Great Public Speaking

There’s no single formula for a great talk, but there is a secret ingredient that all the best ones have in common. TED curator Chris Anderson shares this secret — along with four ways to make it work for you. Do you have what it takes to share an idea worth spreading?

See the entire Chris Anderson TED talk

Mikael Cho: The Science of Stage Fright (and How to Overcome it)

Heart racing, palms sweating, labored breathing? No, you’re not having a heart attack – it’s stage fright! If speaking in public makes you feel like you’re fighting for your life, you’re not alone. But the better you understand your body’s reaction, the more likely you are to overcome it. Mikael Cho advises how to trick your brain and steal the show.

See the entire Mikael Cho TED talk

Public Speaking Tips, Tricks, and Leadership Opportunities

The Paralegal Voice host Vicki Voisin talks with Toastmasters recognized public speaking expert Vicki Kunz about how to seek and properly prepare for public speaking opportunities. Together they discuss the importance of introductions and other areas of focus.

Hear the full episode of The Paralegal Voice on Legal Talk Network

How to Energize Your Speaking Engagements

In this episode, Pete Vargas explains how lawyers can use speaking engagements to generate new clients and referrals. Plus, Pete outlines a three-part presentation outline (heart, head and hands) designed to get the audience to take action.

Hear the full episode of Pete Vargas’s Lawyerist Podcast on The Legal Talk Network.

Quick Tips

• Be a storyteller. Regardless of the topic it is always good to weave in an interesting or thought-provoking story to make you more relatable as a speaker. People love listening to stories. They say President Abraham Lincoln was a master storyteller, by the way. Stories are much easier for an audience to listen to, follow and remember.
• Be yourself. If you are naturally funny, that is great, and if not, don’t worry about it. Trying to be funny and failing can take the wind out of your sails. There is nothing wrong with being serious, strong and passionate.
• Get honest feedback.  Ask others to give you their impressions of you when speaking and decide whether that is the impression you were aiming for.  Some people when confronted with honest feedback have startling realizations about how they sound and how they present that they were simply unaware of in the first place.

See other lawyer speaking tips for advocacy provided by tipsforlawyers.com