Simon Sinek is the third most-watched TED Talk presenter ever, and he credits much of his success at public speaking to constantly pushing his instinctive boundaries of comfort as an introvert. With continued practice and a lot of blunt self-appraisal, Sinek has trained himself to become an excellent public speaker, and in a recent interview with Kim Lachance Shadrow of Entrepreneur, he shared a few of his top tips for public speaking. I find 3 of them to be noteworthy enough that I wanted to talk about them on this blog, so without further adieu, here are my favorite pieces of Sinek’s advice:
Despite being an introvert, through hard work, Simon Sinek has mastered the art of public speaking.
1) “Show up to give, not to take.” This piece of advice rang very true to me. As a public speaker, it’s your responsibility to connect on a genuine level with your audience. If you don’t conscientiously remind yourself that at its core, public speaking is about fostering discussion, and you decide instead to sell something – an idea, a product, a brand – don’t be surprised if your presentation doesn’t go over very well.
2) “Ignore the naysayers.” It can be awfully intimidating to stand on a stage in front of an audience of people who are all waiting to see what you’ll do next. I appreciated and agreed with Sinek’s suggestion to focus on your “supporters,” or the people who are the most visibly engaged with your presentation. Their affirmative body language and positivity will encourage you; if you just imagine that everyone else in the audience’s face looks the same, you’ll be much more at ease.
3) “Say thank you when you’re done.” As Sinek says, “They give you their time, and they’re giving you their applause…that’s a gift, and you have to be grateful.” Sinek hits the nail on the head when he says that the real reason why it’s so important to say thank you at the end of a presentation is because your audience has just given you their most precious commodity: their time. Stay mindful of this, and you’ll be genuinely appreciative when the time comes to show your gratitude, which will end your presentation on a positive note.
I’ll be updating this blog with more posts relating to public speaking and noteworthy public speakers, so pleased check back in the future for new content. Thank you for stopping by, and I hope to see you again soon!