Here's how you can improve your public speaking skills with strategic thinking.

Be sure to craft the talk aligned with the topic you are asked to speak to. Where possible, open with a personalized and relatable experience relevant to the talk topic or context. Customize the talk to the audience and their local ecosystem as is relevant. Organize and deliver the talk as an easily understood linear story that articulates the current state, pain points, opportunities, enablers etc. Avoid overly dense slides. Every slide must have at least one or two clear messages within it. Focus on message delivery, not a data dump. Close strong with three to four well-articulated and impactful recommended strategies, action plans or solutions.

I've seen firsthand how powerful it is to be yourself when you're communicating. Whether you're presenting to a room full of executives or catching up with friends, people connect with authenticity. When you can be genuine, your passion shines through, and your message lands with a deeper impact. Think about it – wouldn't you rather hear from someone who's fired up and real, instead of someone reciting lines from a script? That's what I'm talking about – ditch the facade and let your true self shine!

All the point that have been made about the strategy around the audience is right… but and it’s a big one.. no amount of strategy or prep or knowledge about your audience will make you and your message land if you are a poor performer. The strategy of your message must be owned and in harmony with your ability to demonstrate this. Great communication is the ability to express and control emotion at the same time… this is hard until you realise that you are the message! Emotional connection is the fuel to connecting authentically with your audience, and this comes from projecting it, and staying real. Then working out how to hook your audience in will be a big part of your knowing who they are and what you want them to go away with.

To effectively engage your audience, it's essential to understand who they are, where they come from, and what their aspirations and dreams are. Speak to them at their level, ensuring you connect as one of them rather than from a higher vantage point. Consider the environment of your speech, whether it's open or closed, and adjust your voice projection accordingly. Be culturally sensitive, use emotional stories, and incorporate interactive elements to keep them engaged. Pay attention to your body language, ensure your message is clear and concise, and be adaptable to feedback and real-time reactions to maintain a strong connection with your audience.

How I guide clients to set clear goals is to begin by establishing what the crux of their message is. If I should ask you, “John, what is your presentation about?” The main goal of your speech normally comes to the fore. By focusing on your primary goal, you will naturally begin to structure your thoughts and supplementary goals will be easier definable. Most speakers are trying to achieve too many goals. Choose which target you want to hit, then pick your weapon with extra care and search for the best ammunition - a sure recipe for success.

You can improve your public speaking skills with strategic thinking through setting clear goals. Setting clear goals can help you to better understand what exactly you want to achieve with your speech and can give you more direction. These goals could be based on some of the following questions: what do you want the audience to learn from your speech? How long Is your speech? And what key messages do you want to convey? Your goals can help to give you better direction in the preparation process of your speech.

Absolutely essential. But remember, your goals should be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This approach can help you stay focused and make your speech more effective.

When it comes to public speaking, it is crucial to stay on topic and avoid wandering off. Keeping your message focused makes it more engaging for the audience. A message that relates to the topic helps maintain interest. Adding in some facts or statistics can capture the audience's attention, depending on the context. These elements add depth to your speech, making it interesting. 🤝🎤

A well-structured narrative can illustrate complex ideas in an accessible and engaging way. Think about how your message will impact your audience the most and how they will continue spreading it (which is most likely one of your own strategic goals). I love to use verbal imagery to achieve this - the human brain has a much easier time understanding your message once it connects words with a mental image. This will give your ideas wings to fly 🪽 (see how it worked on you just now? 😉)

While crafting your message, always keep it simple and clear. Avoid jargon and use language that your audience can easily understand. Remember, the goal is not to impress with big words, but to express and make an impact.

Do some research on your audience prior to creating your short story ( short speech). Think of it as story when you write it. It should have a defining purpose with a beginning, middle and a 'wrap it up' end. Make sure your story speaks into the listening of your audience. You will nail it if it speaks to > 95%.

Public speaking is an art that can only be mastered by truly connecting with your audience. Imagine two speakers: one simply reads lines from a paper, while the other uses facial expressions and body language to convey their thoughts. Most people are likely to listen to the second person. Why? Because they connect with the audience through emotions and expressions. Building a bond with your audience can make your public speaking experience much more impactful. 🤝💬

Humans have been telling stories since the beginning of time, and it's the power of crafting a story that makes your audience really feel something, that is the key to a memorable talk. Keep your personal mission front of mind, and use this and the power of vulnerability to deeply connect with others to ensure your message is heard and remembered.

Our brains are built to consume information through storytelling. I love analogies and parables. Think about the point you want to make. Write down all of the feelings associated with that point. Take each emotion and write a story idea that also evokes that same emotion. (It doesn't have to be your story, maybe one you heard, a piece of fiction- literature or movie.) Look over your possible list of stories and see if anything else in the story aligns with the point. Use the emotion as the bridge between the story and your point. I use this in creating hooks for my social media posts all of the time. I think about the point I want to make and then a metaphor that I can exaggerate with humor to grab attention.

What I like to achieve this is asking questions in the beginning to create rapport with the audience or share my own vulnerabilities. Another way to create a bond is to make bold, even controversial statements - a great way to make the audience engage and get active. I’d always prefer to have someone disagree with me than to bore the audience with mediocrity. Plus this ensures that the Q&As are actually engaging

Emotional engagement is indeed crucial. Storytelling can be a powerful tool for this. A good story can captivate your audience, making your speech more memorable. But please, don't start with a picture of your children... it is so 2000! ;)

Hearing your own voice practice a talk enables you to become fluid and avoid the need for a script, which can become stilted and unnatural. Once clear on the key points to make, practising it out loud, helps you find a natural rhythm. I personally prefer doing this whilst moving, standing up, perhaps whilst walking in nature. This would also work better for many neurodivergent brains than sitting static at a desk!

I always loved public speaking, but it didn’t love me back. Despite preparing my speeches and practicing them over and over again, I would speak too quickly out of nervousness when facing the audience. The audience often struggled to understand me because of my pace. I challenged myself by participating in various competitions such as declamations and extemporaneous speaking. My goal wasn't to win but to improve my public speaking skills. Pushing yourself to do something you're uncomfortable with is key to achieving perfection in that area. 💪🎤

The most underrated skill in the “new age” is practice! Yes I agree that there is strategy that goes along with this but let’s keep it simple here. Do more and you will become more, speak more and you will speak more effectively. Practicing makes progress and allows you to overcome the fear of public speaking. I was the worst when I started, I froze up, repeated myself, overthinking was natural and fear of the audience felt like it came natural to me 😆 If you’re reading this just know you have past experiences or lack of experience that has gotten you to who you are today, you just need to overcome them and commit to it! So, practice deliberately until you become the person you know you are becoming! CTA: Pack your calendar now

Instead of just rehearsing your speech, simulate the actual speaking environment. Wear the clothes you'll present in, stand in front of a mirror or camera, and visualize your audience. By turning practice into a full performance, you condition yourself to handle the pressure and nuances of the real event. A well-prepared speaker isn't just confident in their material but also comfortable in the setting. This immersive practice approach helps you refine your delivery and boosts your confidence, ensuring you're ready to captivate your audience.

Join Toastmasters and discuss with evaluators in advance. Ask feedbacks from audiences. Try different opening approaches in every speech to find an optimized style for yourself.

After every speech, take time to reflect on what worked well and what didn’t. Don’t hesitate to make necessary changes. Adaptability is key in public speaking, as it is in life.

When possible, ask for feedback. Your audience will be able to provide a unique perspective on your delivery that you can use to improve your public speaking skills.

Reflecting on your speech and adapting based on your preferences and audience feedback is crucial for future improvements. Personally, I pay close attention to my pace, as it greatly impacts my delivery. If possible, record your final speech production and review it objectively. Rather than being overly critical, focus on identifying areas for improvement and strengths to build upon from your performance.

As you reflect on your speech, remember to consider every aspect of the speech. This includes the audience, the location, the venue, etc. Just because parts of a speech didn't go well in one venue for one group of people, doesn't mean that the speech is flawed in that section. Think about why those parts of the speech that didn't seem to work, didn't work for that particular audience, group, location, etc. It is possible the speech needs refining, but it is also possible that particular part of the speech simply didn't land for that audience, and for a different audience could be just fine. Make sure to reflect on every side of the parts of the speech you feel didn't work.

I’d add “Know your location”: If you can, try to rehearse at the location of the speech. Use the tech and audio equipment, get a feel for the stage and lights. These might seem minor while crafting a perfect pitch or speech, but your performance will depend on these just as much. Make sure you use the stage to your advantage.

Improving public speaking skills with strategic thinking involves several key steps. Firstly, it's essential to prepare and structure your speech effectively. Start by outlining your main points and organizing them logically to ensure a smooth flow of information. Secondly, incorporating strategic thinking into your public speaking involves understanding your audience. Tailoring your message to resonate with your listeners can make a significant impact. Furthermore, utilizing storytelling techniques can make your speech more compelling and memorable. Lastly, seeking feedback from peers or mentors after your speeches can provide valuable insights for improvement.

Strategy is key part of communication in public speaking. Strategic thinking helps you identify and understand the themes and values that will work with your target audience. It can help you remove certain mental barriers along with giving you that competitive advantage. This helps to smartly drive the discussion for most relevant factors along with giving you that good 'edge' through your insights, improvisation, wit, humor and spontaneity. Your thoughts will be more structured and planned helping you to have that power of driving a smart two way communication with your audience along with giving you that special connect with your audience.

As a part of my early development as an Air Force officer a commander assigned briefing topics for audiences of 20 to 50 depending on the topic. Their feedback for me was that when I was speaking on a topic I had known thoroughly I was a more natural speaker. When I had rushed or tried to brief on a freshly learned topic my manner was much different. Choosing your subject based on your inherent knowledge of the topics can greatly improve your comfort, presence on stage, and the impression you leave on your audience.