Here's how you can captivate and connect with your audience as a novice speaker.

Own your expertise. You have studied and learned your craft. While you may be a new speaker you probably aren't new to your area of genius. Confidently convey your knowledge and be a continual learner.

If you're a new speaker make sure that you know your talk. Don't memorize your talk, just know it. Be able to move about it, prepare for distraction. Practice in different places. Add as much of your personality into the talk as possible. Have a hook that works. Bring your audience into your world as quickly as possible. We have a tendency to save all the good stuff until the end, but you need to hook your audience as soon as you get onstage. Be authentic, be open, and you'll do fine.

Undertake a deep research of the topic you are presenting. Understand the key metrics, highlights and perspectives of that topic. Be conversant with the statistics and have a simplified way of presenting them for better understanding. One great way of simplifying data is through use of imagery and infographics.

Here's how to captivate your audience as a beginner: 1. Start with a relatable story, surprising fact, or question. People remember beginnings best! 2. Ditch stiff scripts and formalities. Speak naturally with your own voice and personality. 3. Show your passion for your topic! Your energy will draw the audience in and make your message engaging. 4. Weave personal anecdotes or relevant stories into your presentation. Stories make information relatable and memorable. 5. Rehearse your presentation out loud, ideally in front of a trusted friend or family member. Practice builds confidence and delivery fluency.

Additionally, when you are well-prepared your self-assurance grows. The confidence will be evident in your voice, body language and overall presentation style. Most audiences are quite perceptive and can easily pick up on a speaker's confidence, which helps establish trust and credibility.

The start of your speech can either be the make or break of your presentation. It's important to make your start memorable through effective audience engagement. One of the ways of engaging the audience is through rhetorical questions that jog people's imaginations, ice breakers and relatable stories.

In essence, this specific topic (Engage Early) can be simply defined as underscoring the importance of preparation and planning in delivering an effective speech or presentation. By knowing your audience and crafting a compelling opening, you lay the foundation for a successful and impactful communication experience. Remember, when you're making a speech you're communicating both audibly and physically.

"Raise your hands if you wish to be successful!", "Give me a loud cheer if you love ice creams", "Do you love summer vacations?" Such rhetorical questions can be used by novice speakers to engage the audience. These are safe bets.

Pacing yourself effectively helps you to emphasize your message while keeping the audience attentive. Have a pace that is moderated and memorable. You can master this through frequent practice and dummy runs. Have an objective observer who gives you feedback about the speed of your oral communication.

Your audience need you, only you and no-one else. Great public speaking is about building a relationship, not delivering a performance. Any worthwhile relationship demands that the people entering into it are entirely authentic. Once you embrace simply showing up as yourself, it frees up so much mental energy to focus on the really exciting stuff that's happening in the room, right now, with your audience. Too many speakers miss out on this because they're too focused on projecting a polished, sterilised version of themselves.

✅✅Authenticity is very key ! Through this, you create a more engaging and impactful experience for your audience. Always humanize your presentation and make it more memorable.

You can deliver yourself two ways when delivering a speech: 1. The natural "you". 2. The rehearsed "you". The rehearsed "you" can often be received as scripted creating a barrier between the speaker and the audience. People might perceive the speaker as trying too hard or being insincere, which can undermine the effectiveness of the communication. The natural you fosters emotional connection, trust and loyalty. This doesn't mean freestyle it and don't bring notes or arrived unprepared. This means that you're utilizing every aspect of yourself and your character in order to convey the best information possible while not making everyone feel lectured. Talk to, not at.

Always outline the purpose and main points of your presentation early on. This helps the audience understand what to expect and why they should listen, hopefully providing a roadmap that keeps them focused and interested. While in Leadership Management School during my Air Force career, I was taught the phrase "Tell them what you're going to talk about, talk about it, and then recap what you talked about." This actually keep you, the speaker, and the audience on-track.