Little Pointers

When you speak in front of an audience...

-Dress comfortably. Be careful about your grooming. Make sure you are nicely presented

-Check that your audience is comfortable. Don't leave people standing for long periods

-Assess the age group of your audience. Speaking to children, youth, adults, seniors, or a mixed group all require different skills.

-Know your subject - prepare...prepare...prepare

-Use your microphone correctly - keep it right under your chin...even with a microphone, speak as if your voice needs to carry to the person who is the furthest away

-Find out how long you are supposed to speak and stick to it

-Use your eyes to connect with your audience. Look directly at people, but don't fixate on one or two - look at everyone 

-Use humor and personal stories to make yourself relatable 

-Try to enjoy yourself. If you are anxious...your audience will pick up on that right away

-Be authentic - don't try to copy someone else's style or mannerisms

-Use a well-timed story or climax to conclude your speech. Leave your audience happy that they heard your talk

Sowing Words

Our words are so important - they are like seeds that drop into the lives of others. When we sow positive words, we reap a harvest of positivity. Likewise, when we sow negative words, negativity will follow us wherever we go. 

Some people call this karma "what goes around comes around"...or Zig Ziegler's words of wisdom:

I prefer the Biblical idea of sowing a reaping: Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. Galatians 6:7

Consider this wise saying that has been attributed to many authors from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Lao Tzu to Stephen R Covey that succinctly sums up what I am trying to say about "sowing" words:

Sow a thought - reap a word

Sow a word - reap an act

Sow an act - reap a habit

Sow a habit - reap a lifestyle

Sow a lifestyle - reap a character

Sow a character - reap a destiny

In other words...we reap what we sow with our thoughts and words.

I want to conclude with some "seeds" that will lay a positive foundation for our motivations as we speak to others:

With Your Words:

                                

Be kind             

 Be wise                                   

  Be loving

   Be careful

    Be helpful

     Be truthful

      Be tolerant

       Be selfless

        Be thankful

         Be pleasant

          Be sensitive

           Be generous

            Be accepting

             Be thoughtful

              Be refreshing

               Be approving

                Be perceptive

                 Be appreciative

                  Be understanding

                   Be complimentary

                    Be compassionate

1Peter 3:10

For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, 

And his lips from speaking deceit.